JP2008120491A - Paper sheet handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To surely detect remained paper sheets at a predetermined time other than work time, for example when a power source is turned on, in a paper sheet handling device such as a counter. <P>SOLUTION: This paper sheet handling device comprises a paper feeding section 2 for supplying paper sheet formed into the nearly same shape one by one, conveying sections 4, 8 and 9 for conveying the paper sheets supplied from the paper feeding section 2 and for counting or handling the paper sheets, and recovery sections 3 and 7 for recovering the paper sheets conveyed by the conveying sections 4, 8 and 9. A plurality of sensors S2, S3, S4, S5, S6 and S8 for detecting the paper sheets during conveyance are arranged in the conveying sections 4, 8 and 9, and an interval between the sensors in the conveying direction, an interval between a conveyance starting end and a sensor arranged nearest the conveyance starting end, and an interval between a conveyance finishing end and a sensor arranged nearest the conveyance finishing end are set less than the length of the paper sheet in the conveying direction. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper sheet processing apparatus, and mainly relates to a paper sheet processing apparatus such as a paper counting apparatus that counts a large number of paper sheets such as voting paper and tickets at a high speed or counts up to a set number.

  Among paper sheet processing apparatuses, there is an apparatus described in Patent Document 1 as a conventional example of a sheet counting apparatus that counts the number of voting sheets and the like. This conventional example includes a paper feed unit, a transport unit, and a paper recovery unit, and supplies a large number of sheets supplied to the paper feed unit one by one to the transport unit, and counts the number of sheets during the transport. The sheet collecting unit is configured to collect a set number of sheets. In this conventional example, a plurality of sensors for detecting the paper being transported are arranged, thereby detecting the double feeding or chaining of the paper, but these sensors are in operation (conveying). It is also used for the purpose of detecting the presence or absence of paper and the remaining paper at the end of work. In other words, it is possible to detect whether or not there is a sheet remaining at a predetermined time other than during processing, for example, when the power is turned on or after the sheet jam processing. The sensors are arranged only where necessary regardless of the length of the paper in the conveyance direction, and most of the intervals in the conveyance direction between adjacent sensors are larger than the length of the paper in the conveyance direction. Yes.

JP-A-8-157103

  If the sensors are arranged at wide intervals in the transport direction regardless of the length in the transport direction of the paper as in the above-described conventional example, it is determined whether the paper remains at the end of the work or at the restart. Even if it is checked, if paper remains between sensors, it cannot be detected. In particular, when the paper sheet to be processed is voting paper, it is normally put into the ballot box in a folded state, so that it can be fed in a folded state when it is fed to the paper feed unit after collecting the votes. If the sheet remains in the transport unit in a state where the sheet is folded in two by a fold line perpendicular to the transport direction after completion of the counting operation or after the paper jam processing, the detection becomes even more difficult. In counting the ballots, even a single vote cannot be missed.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet processing apparatus that can reliably detect the remaining of paper at a predetermined time other than during processing operations, for example, when the apparatus is turned on.

  In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a first aspect of the present invention provides a sheet feeding unit that supplies sheets of substantially the same shape one by one, a sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit, and a sheet. In a paper sheet processing apparatus comprising: a transport unit that counts papers or performs other processing; and a collection unit that collects paper sheets transported by the transport unit, the paper sheet being transported to the transport unit A plurality of sensors for detecting the type of sensor, the distance between the sensors in the transport direction, the distance in the transport direction between the transport start end of the transport unit and the sensor closest to the transport start end, and the sensor at the transport end and the end of the transport end Is set to be equal to or less than the length of the paper sheet in the conveyance direction.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the paper sheet processing apparatus according to the first aspect, each interval in the transport direction with respect to the sensor is set to be equal to or less than half of the length in the transport direction of the paper sheet.

  The invention according to claim 3 includes a control unit to which each of the sensors is connected and a warning device connected to the control unit, and at a predetermined time other than during processing work, The presence or absence of paper sheets is detected, and the warning device is activated when a residual paper sheet is detected.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the paper sheet processing apparatus according to the third aspect, the predetermined time is when the paper sheet processing apparatus is powered on or after paper sheet jam processing.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the paper sheet processing apparatus according to any one of the first to fourth aspects, the transport unit includes a plurality of paper transport rollers, and the transport direction length of the paper sheets. They are arranged at intervals in the transport direction that are less than half the length.

(1) Since the sensors for detecting the paper sheet being transported are arranged at intervals equal to or shorter than the length of the paper sheet in the transport direction, no matter which paper sheet remains in the transport unit, The residual paper sheet can be detected by such a sensor. That is, the remaining paper can be reliably detected at a predetermined time such as when the power is turned on or after paper jam processing.

(2) By setting the interval between the detection sensors to be less than or equal to half the length of the paper sheet in the conveyance direction, the paper sheet is folded in half by a fold perpendicular to the conveyance direction in the conveyance unit or in a half-cut state. Even if there remains, those paper sheets can be reliably detected.

(3) By configuring so as to warn by a warning device when remaining is detected, it is possible to remove residual paper sheets quickly and without forgetting.

(4) By arranging the interval between the rollers for conveyance at intervals less than half the length of the sheet in the conveyance direction, even if the sheet is folded in half or cut out, the sheet is reliably conveyed. , It is possible to prevent the residual in the transport unit.

  The accompanying drawings are examples in which the present invention is applied to a paper counting device used for counting election ballots as an example of a paper sheet processing device, and an embodiment of the present invention will be described based on these drawings. .

[Overview of the entire device]
1 is an overall perspective view of the paper counting device, FIG. 2 is a side view of the paper counting device, FIG. 3 is a side view of the paper counting device showing a state in which the pressing guide of the abnormal paper collecting unit is opened, and FIG. 5 is a vertical side view of the paper counting device showing a state in which the front and rear case cover portions are opened, and FIG. 6 is a schematic vertical side view of the paper counting device clearly showing the arrangement state of the conveyance rollers and various sensors. is there. For convenience of explanation, as described in the drawing, the sheet feeding side will be described as “front” of the apparatus, and the side on which the operation panel 11 is provided will be described as “right side” of the apparatus.

  In FIG. 1, the paper counting device includes a paper feed unit 2 at the front upper end of the device case 1, a normal paper collection unit 3 at the rear lower end, and a space between the paper feed unit 2 and the normal paper collection unit 3. A substantially V-shaped main transport unit 4 is provided, an abnormal paper collecting unit 7 is provided on the upper surface of the rear half of the main transport unit 4, an operation panel 11 is provided on the lower end of the right side surface of the apparatus case 1, and the main transport unit 4 is provided. Are provided with warning lamps 21, 22, 23 arranged in three upper and lower stages. In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, in the apparatus case 1, a normal paper conveyance unit 8 that extends downward is extended upward to a conveyance terminal portion (rear end portion) of the main conveyance unit 4 via a switching mechanism 10. An abnormal paper transport unit 9 is provided, and a separating mechanism 12 is provided between the front end of the main transport unit 4 and the paper feed unit 2. That is, the transport unit of the apparatus includes the main transport unit 4, the normal paper transport unit 8, and the abnormal paper transport unit 9, and the nip portion of the separating mechanism 12 serves as the transport start end P1, and the normal paper The lower end of the transport unit 8 and the upper end of the abnormal paper transport unit 9 are transport end points P2 and P3.

  The basic operation of the entire apparatus will be briefly described. In FIG. 4, a large number of sheets of substantially the same shape (for example, voting sheets) are stacked on the sheet feeding unit 2, and the lowest sheet is passed through the paper-feeding mechanism 12. The paper is fed to the main transport unit 4 one by one, and during transport in the main transport unit 4, it is determined whether or not the paper is abnormal by the abnormal paper identification sensor S2, and if it is identified as normal paper, it is sent to the normal paper transport unit 8. At the same time, it is counted by the normal paper transport path sensor S6 and collected by the normal paper collecting unit 3. On the other hand, when the paper is identified as abnormal paper, the abnormal paper is discharged to the abnormal paper collecting unit 7 via the abnormal paper transport unit 9. When the number of sheets collected by the normal paper collection unit 3 reaches the set number, the apparatus automatically stops.

[Detailed configuration of paper feed unit]
In FIG. 1, a pair of left and right sheet width regulation guides 25 are erected on the bottom surface 2 a of the paper feeding unit 2 so as to be movable in the left-right direction, and a butting guide 26 is disposed at the rear end. Reference numerals 25 and 26 are made of a transparent resin material. A pair of left and right paper feed rollers 27 protrude from the bottom surface 2a of the paper feed unit 2 from below, and the paper feed roller 27 has a notch in a part of the outer peripheral surface as shown in FIG. The notched portion is provided with a rubber friction member 27a that increases the frictional force with the paper. As shown in FIG. 6, the paper feed roller 27 is interlocked and connected to a first drive motor 61, and the first drive motor 61 is electrically connected to the control unit 70.

  When the paper feeding roller 27 makes one rotation in the paper feeding direction, the stacked paper N on the bottom surface 2a is moved up and down, and the friction member 27a comes into contact with the lowermost paper so that a large frictional force between the paper and the friction member 27a. As a result, the lowermost sheet is sent to the scooping mechanism 12. In this way, the paper is sent out periodically at regular intervals.

  Since the left and right sheet width regulation guides 25 and the abutment guide 26 are made of transparent members, the sheets stacked on the sheet feeding unit 2 can be easily confirmed from the rear and side.

[Detailed configuration of main transport unit and rolling mechanism]
In FIG. 6, a V-shaped main transport unit 4 disposed between the rolling mechanism 12 and the switching mechanism 10 has a pair of upper and lower transport guide plates 33 with a predetermined interval in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction A. 34 is arranged, and a main transport path 35 is formed between the transport guide plates 33 and 34. A plurality of transport roller pairs 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 are arranged in the main transport path 35 at intervals in the transport direction A, and each of the transport roller pairs 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 is The driving rollers 41a, 42a, 43a, 44a, and 45a have large diameters and the driven rollers 41b, 42b, 43b, 44b, and 45b have small diameters, and project into the main conveyance path 35. As a specific example of the arrangement of the conveying roller pairs 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 in the embodiment, an intermediate conveying roller pair 42 is arranged on a V-shaped bottom, and the intermediate conveying roller pair 42 and a rolling mechanism are arranged. 12, a front conveyance roller pair 41 is disposed between the intermediate conveyance roller pair 42 and the switching mechanism 10, and three first, second, and third rear conveyance roller pairs 43, 44, 45 are disposed between the intermediate conveyance roller pair 42 and the switching mechanism 10. It is arranged. The interval (arrangement span) in the conveyance direction A of each pair of conveyance rollers 41, 42, 43, 44, 45 is set to an interval that is half or less of the length in the conveyance direction of the paper N. Among the transport roller pairs 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45, the intermediate transport roller pair 42 has a driving roller 42a disposed on the upper side, and the remaining transport roller pairs 41, 43, 44, and 45 are driven downward. Rollers 41a, 43a, 44a and 45a are arranged.

Although not shown, each drive roller 41a, 42a, 43a, 44a, 45a is interlocked and connected to the second drive motor 62 so as to rotate synchronously by a drive belt mechanism, and the second drive motor 62 is controlled. The unit 70 is electrically connected.

FIG. 8 is a schematic VV cross-sectional view of FIG. In FIG. 8, the separating mechanism 12 includes a pair of left and right separating rollers 50 disposed below the main conveyance path 35, a central roller 51 disposed between both separating rollers 50, and the left and right separating rollers 50. And a spoon-shaped weight 53 and a rubber roller 54 disposed on the central roller 51 so as to be able to swing up and down. An annular groove is formed on the outer peripheral surfaces of the left and right fixed rollers 52, and the annular protrusions of the rolling roller 50 are engaged with each other with a gap therebetween. On the other hand, the spoon-shaped weight 53 and the rubber roller 54 are centered by their own weight. It is in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the roller 51. Friction members 50 a and 51 a are provided on part of the outer peripheral surfaces of the left and right roller 50 and the central roller 51. The fixed roller 52 is supported by the support shaft 52a via a one-way clutch so as to be rotatable only in the direction opposite to the conveying direction. As shown in FIG. 6, the winding roller 50 and the center roller 51 are interlocked and connected to the first driving motor 61 by a driving belt or the like so as to be driven in synchronization with the paper feeding roller 27 of the paper feeding unit 2. It is connected.

When the left and right separation rollers 50 and the central roller 51 rotate, the paper N is fed into the main transport unit 4 by the friction members 50a and 51a on the outer peripheral surface. In this case, the upper sheet is separated from the lower sheet by the fixed roller 52 and the spoon-shaped weight 53 and stopped, and only the lower sheet is fed into the main transport unit 4. That is, in FIG. 8, the sheet N is in contact with each roller and the spoon-shaped weight 54 between the left and right separating rollers 50 and the fixed roller 52 and between the center roller 51 and the spoon-shaped weight 53 and the rubber roller 54. In addition, the sheet passes while corrugating in the paper width direction, and is thus subjected to a curling action.

[Normal paper transport unit and abnormal paper transport unit]
12 and 13 are enlarged vertical side views of the normal paper transport unit 8, the abnormal paper transport unit 9, and the switching mechanism 10, and FIG. 12 shows a state in which the switching mechanism 10 is located at the normal paper identification position. Reference numeral 13 denotes a state in which the switching mechanism 10 is located at the abnormal paper identification position. In FIG. 12, the upper abnormal paper transport roller 64 and the lower normal paper transport roller 63 are arranged so as to contact each other at the transport terminal end (rear end) of the main transport section 4. Rubber rollers 65 and 66 are in contact with the rear sides of the conveying rollers 63 and 64, respectively. A gate member 91 of the switching mechanism 10 is disposed in the vicinity of the rear side of the contact portion of both the transport rollers 63 and 64, and the lower end of the gate member 91 is below the normal paper transport unit 8. An arcuate guide plate 71 that forms the normal paper transport path 8 a is disposed so as to face the outer peripheral surface of the normal paper transport roller 63. The normal paper transport path 8a extends to the normal paper collection unit 3 below. On the other hand, on the upper side of the rear end portion of the gate member 91, an arcuate guide plate 72 that forms the abnormal paper transport path 9 a of the abnormal paper transport unit 9 is arranged to face the outer peripheral surface of the abnormal paper transport roller 64. Is arranged. The abnormal paper transport path 9a makes a U-turn forward via a guide rib 84 of the presser guide 81 described later, and reaches the abnormal paper collecting unit 7.

As shown in FIG. 6, the normal paper transport roller 63 and the abnormal paper transport roller 64 are linked to the second drive motor 62 via a drive belt mechanism or the like, and rotate synchronously. Yes.

[Normal paper collection section]
In FIG. 6, the normal paper collecting unit 3 includes a bottom plate 3a arranged in a downwardly descending manner, a vertical guide plate 73 standing on the front end of the bottom plate 3a and reaching the lower end of the normal paper transport path 8a, and an outer peripheral surface. And a rotatable impeller 75 provided with a large number of blades 75a, and a transparent material stopper 77 standing on the rear end of the bottom plate 3a. The blades 75a are arranged at equal intervals in the circumferential direction and extend radially outward in a curved shape.

  The sheets N discharged from the normal sheet conveyance path 8a are inserted one by one or several sheets between the blades 75a, sent out backward by the rotation of the impeller 75, and sequentially leaned against the stopper 77 in a stacked manner. Since the stopper 77 is made of a transparent member, the rear surface of normal paper (paper N) collected in a laminated form can be easily confirmed from the rear.

[Abnormal Paper Collection Department]
In FIGS. 2 and 3, the abnormal paper collecting unit 7 moves up and down via a hinge part to a bottom plate 7a extending forward and downward from the upper end of the abnormal paper transport path 9a and a front end rising part 7b of the bottom plate 7a. It is composed of a resin-made pressing guide 81 that is movably supported, and a metal pressing fitting 82 that is disposed in a rectangular hole 81a (see FIG. 1) formed in the center of the left-right width of the pressing guide 81. The metal holding metal fitting 82 is supported by the holding guide 81 so that the rear end thereof can swing up and down via a hinge portion. For example, three guide ribs 84 having an arcuate guide surface are formed at the rear end portion of the pressing guide 81 at intervals in the left-right direction (paper width direction).

  The abnormal paper transported upward along the abnormal paper transport path 9 a is U-turned forward by the guide rib 84 and is sent to the abnormal paper collecting unit 7 while being guided by the press guide 81, and is frictioned with the press fitting 82. Thus, the sheet is loaded on the bottom plate 7a without jumping forward greatly.

  The abnormal paper collected by the abnormal paper collecting unit 7 can be extracted from the left side or the right side without opening the pressing guide 81. That is, when the number of abnormal sheets discharged to the abnormal sheet collection unit 7 reaches the limit number (for example, 10 sheets), the operator can extract the abnormal sheets from the side without opening the pressing guide 81. Incidentally, the pressing guide 81 is opened when checking an abnormal paper collecting unit sensor S9 and the like which will be described later.

[Configuration of device case cover]
In FIG. 1, the main transport section 4 is covered from above by front and rear case cover sections 86a and 86b. As shown in FIG. 7 which is a schematic plan view, the left and right width W1 of the main transport section 4 is The cover portions 86a and 86b are configured to be narrow so as to be spaced apart from the left and right ends of the cover portions 86a and 86b, respectively, and the sheet being conveyed can be visually recognized from the outside at the portion protruding outward from the left and right ends of the main conveyance portion 4. As shown, a transparent material window 87 (shown by diagonal lines) is provided. Further, as shown in FIG. 5, each case cover portion 86a, 86b is rotatably supported by a hinge portion 88 provided at an upper position of the intermediate conveyance roller pair 42, and a lock mechanism is provided at each free end portion. And lock release levers 89a and 89b are provided. When the case cover portions 86a and 86b are closed as shown in FIG. 4, the lock release levers 89a and 89b are pressed to release the lock, as shown in FIG. It can be opened. Each case cover portion 86a, 86b is provided with rollers 41b, 43b, 44b, 45b above the conveying roller pairs 41, 43, 44, 45, respectively.

[Switching mechanism]
9 is a perspective view of the switching mechanism 10, FIG. 10 is an enlarged perspective view of the drive mechanism 90 of the switching mechanism 10, FIG. 11 is an enlarged longitudinal sectional view of the arrow XI portion of FIG. 10, and FIGS. Fig. 14 is an enlarged vertical sectional side view of the normal paper conveyance unit 8, the abnormal paper conveyance unit 9 and the switching mechanism 10, and Fig. 14 is an operation explanatory view showing the state of the rotating cam 99 when the switching mechanism 10 is switched to the normal paper identification position. 15 is an operation explanatory view showing the state of the rotating cam 99 when the switching mechanism 10 is switched to the abnormal paper identification position.

  In FIG. 12, the gate member 91 of the switching mechanism 10 is opposed to the upper arcuate guide portion 91 b facing the outer peripheral surface of the abnormal paper transport roller 64 with a space and the outer peripheral surface of the normal paper transport roller 63 with a space. And a lower arcuate guide portion 91a integrally formed with a substantially V-shaped cross section. As shown in FIG. 9, shaft portions 91 c are integrally formed on the left and right end walls 92 of the gate member 91, and the shaft portions 93 c are provided with bearings (not shown on the right side) 95 on the left and right side walls of the apparatus case 1. The drive mechanism 90 disposed in the vicinity of the right side of the gate member 91 can be reciprocally rotated in the vertical direction with the shaft portion 91c as a rotation fulcrum.

  In FIG. 10, the drive mechanism 90 includes a stepping motor 96, a drive gear 97 fixed to the output shaft of the stepping motor 96, a cam gear 98 meshing with the drive gear 97 and having a rotating cam 99 formed therein. The drive member (cam follow) 100 is formed at the front end portion of the right end wall 92 of the gate member 91 so as to protrude rightward and meshes with the rotary cam 99. The stepping motor 96 and the gears 97 and 98 are supported by the right side wall of the device case 1 and a bracket 93 fixed to the device case 1. On the back surface (right side surface) of the cam gear 98, a pair of detection pieces 102 for initially setting the rotational direction position of the rotary cam 99 are formed. The detection pieces 102 are position detection sensors as shown in FIG. By passing through 103, the rotation angle can be detected. The position detection sensor 103 and the stepping motor 96 are electrically connected to the control unit 70 as shown in FIG.

  In FIG. 14, the rotating cam 99 is constituted by a groove formed in a rhombus shape (or a parallelogram shape) on the left end surface of the cam gear 98, and has a pair of long side cam paths 99 a formed in gentle chevron shapes. And a pair of short side cam paths 99b connecting both ends of both long side cam paths 99a. As shown in FIG. 14, when the short side cam path 99b is positioned up and down, the vicinity of the top of the upper short side cam path 99b abuts on the drive pin 100, and the front end of the gate member 91 is raised. When the long side cam path 99a is positioned up and down as shown in FIG. 15 after being rotated 90 ° in the direction of arrow B from the state of FIG. The vicinity of the top portion of the cam path 99a abuts on the drive pin 100, and the front end portion of the gate member 91 is lowered to be positioned at the abnormal paper identification position.

  As shown in FIG. 12, when the gate member 91 is located at the normal paper identification position, the upper normal paper is simultaneously opened when the lower normal paper transport path 8a is opened with respect to the main transport path 35 of the main transport unit 4. When the conveyance path 9a is closed and the gate member 91 is located at the abnormal paper identification position as shown in FIG. 13, the abnormal normal paper conveyance path 9a on the upper side with respect to the main conveyance path 35 of the main conveyance unit 4. Simultaneously, the lower normal paper conveyance path 8a is closed.

[Various sensors]
In FIG. 4, a paper feed sensor that detects the presence of paper in the paper feed unit 2 and the presence of abnormal paper in the abnormal paper collection unit 7 on the bottom plate 2 a of the paper feed unit 2 and the bottom plate 7 a of the abnormal paper collection unit 7. A (reflection sensor) S1 and an abnormal paper detection sensor (reflection sensor) S9 are arranged. In the normal paper collecting unit 3, a front light emitting unit S7a and a rear light receiving unit S7b are arranged to face each other as a normal paper collecting unit sensor S7 that detects the presence or absence of paper in the normal paper collecting unit 3.

  As the abnormal paper identification sensor S2, the front light emitting unit S2a and the rear light receiving unit S2b face each other across the main transport path 35 at a position near the downstream side in the transport direction of the front transport roller pair 41 of the main transport unit 4. Has been placed. In the latter half of the main transport unit 4, a main transport path 35 is provided as first, second, and third main transport path sensors S3, S4, and S5 at substantially the same positions as the transport roller pairs 43, 44, and 45. Light emitting portions S3a, S4a, and S5a are disposed below and sandwiched, and light receiving portions S3b, S4b, and S5b are disposed above the light emitting portions S3a, S4a, and S5a, respectively. In the normal paper transport unit 8, as the normal paper detection sensor S6, a light emitting unit S6a is disposed in front of the normal paper transport path 8a, and a light receiving unit s6b is disposed in the rear so as to face the light emitting unit S6a. Yes. In the abnormal paper transport section 9, as the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8, a light emitting section S8a is disposed in front of the abnormal paper transport path 9a, and a light receiving section S8b is disposed in the rear so as to face the light emitting section S8a. ing. The normal paper conveyance path sensor S6 has a function of counting the number of normal paper passing as a function of the apparatus main body at the same time as detecting the presence / absence and passage of paper. The abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 also has the role of counting the number of abnormal paper passing at the same time as detecting the presence and the passage of paper.

  The abnormal paper identification sensor S2 is a transmissive optical sensor. When the light passing between the light emitting unit S2a and the light receiving unit S2b is blocked by the paper, the amount of light received by the light receiving unit S2b changes, and thereby passes. Determine whether the sheets overlap. That is, when a sheet whose sheet transmittance is not 100% passes, the amount of light received by the sensor decreases as the transmittance decreases. If the sheets overlap, the light transmittance is one sheet. The amount of light received by the sensor also decreases. Accordingly, a first threshold value (upper limit value) R1 is set between the sensor light receiving amount L0 when the paper is not passing and the sensor light receiving amount L1 when one paper passes, and the sensor light receiving amount is set. By comparing T with the first threshold value R1, it can be determined that the sheet is at the sensor position. That is, if the sensor light reception amount T is smaller than the first threshold value R1, it can be determined that the sheet is at the sensor position. Further, a second threshold value (lower limit value) R2 is set between the sensor light receiving amount L1 for one sheet and the sensor light receiving amount L2 for two sheets. By comparing with the threshold value R2, it can be determined whether or not the sheets overlap. That is, if the sensor light receiving amount T is smaller than the second threshold value R2, it can be determined that the sheets are overlapped.

  Further, the length of the sheet in the conveyance direction can be detected by the sensor light reception amount T and the pulse signal from the pulse encode 62 a provided in the second drive motor 62. That is, if the pulse signal is counted when the passage of the sheet is detected by the sensor light reception amount T, the count value corresponds to the length.

  19 and 20 are perspective views showing how the paper N is identified. The abnormal paper identification sensor S2 is arranged in two pairs at a predetermined interval in the left-right direction within the left-right width of the paper, so that the paper N is folded at a fold along the transport direction A as shown in FIG. The sheet N can be detected and identified even when it is folded in two or cut so that the left and right widths are approximately half. That is, in the case of two folds, only one of the abnormal paper identification sensors S2 detects the presence and thickness of the paper, thereby identifying the abnormal paper in the double state, but the other abnormal paper identification sensor In S2, the paper N is not detected. Based on the information from both of these abnormal paper identification sensors S2, it can be identified that the paper is folded in two. Similarly, the half-cut sheet N can be identified.

  In FIG. 6, the first, second, and third main transport path sensors S3, S4, and S5 disposed at the rear of the main transport section 4 of course detect the presence or absence of paper passing through the main transport path 35. In addition, it is possible to detect the passage of the paper conveyance start end and the conveyance rear end.

  The distance in the conveyance direction A between the separation mechanism 12 (conveyance start end P1) and the abnormal paper identification sensor S2, the distance in the conveyance direction A between the abnormal paper identification sensor S2 and the first main conveyance path sensor S3, and the first A distance in the conveyance direction A between the main conveyance path sensor S3 and the second main conveyance path sensor S4; a distance in the conveyance direction A between the second main conveyance path sensor S4 and the third main conveyance path sensor S5; The distance in the transport direction A between the third main transport path sensor S5 and the normal paper transport path sensor S6 and the distance in the transport direction A between the third main transport path sensor S5 and the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 are: Both are set to be equal to or shorter than the length in the sheet conveyance direction. In particular, the interval in the conveyance direction of the first, second, and third main conveyance path sensors S3, S4, and S5 is the length in the sheet conveyance direction. It is set to less than half. Further, the distance in the transport direction between the normal paper transport path sensor S6 and the end (P2) of the normal paper transport path 8a, and the distance in the transport direction between the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 and the end (P3) of the abnormal paper transport path 9a. Also, the length is set to be equal to or shorter than the length in the sheet conveyance direction.

In FIG. 5, the front and rear case cover portions 86a and 86b are provided with open detection sensors S11 and S12 (see FIG. 17) for detecting the open state of the case cover portions 86a and 86b, respectively. 70 is electrically connected.

[control panel]
FIG. 16 is an enlarged view of the operation panel 11, and FIG. 17 is a block diagram showing a control system of this apparatus. In FIG. 16, in the upper front part of the device of the operation panel 11, a vote bundle setting display unit 110 that displays a desired number of vote bundles set up to 3 digits and a count display unit 111 that displays the number of counted sheets up to 3 digits. In the rear upper part, a vote bundle setting switch 112, a conveyance speed changeover switch 113, and a mode changeover switch 114 are provided, and high and low speed display lamps 120 and 121, an automatic mode and a manual mode are provided. Lamps 115 and 116 are provided. In the lower part, a start / stop switch 125 is provided at the front end part, and an error display lamp 122, a counting intermediate lamp 123 and a counting end lamp 124 are provided in the latter half part. The vote bundle setting display unit 110 or the count display unit 11 has, for example, a seven-segment configuration, and in addition to the function of displaying the set number or count, when an error occurs, what kind of error the error is It also has a function to display with. For example, it has a function of displaying “Error 1”, “Error 2”, “Error 3”, and the like.

  Each time the vote bundle setting switch 112 is pressed, the set number of sheets is changed to a circulation type in the order of 100 → 200 → 20 → 50 → 100, for example. The mode switch 114 is configured to switch automatically and manually each time it is pressed. When the automatic mode is set, counting of the set number is completed, and when all the sheets of the normal paper collecting unit 3 are taken out, the next counting starts automatically by detecting the empty state by the normal paper collecting unit sensor S7. To do. On the other hand, when there is no paper in the normal paper collection unit 3 or when the set number of sheets has not been reached, if the paper is loaded on the empty paper feeding unit 2, the next paper is automatically detected by the paper feeding unit sensor S1. Counting starts. When the manual start is set, counting is started by pressing the start / stop switch 121 again after all the sheets of the normal paper collecting unit 3 are taken out. The conveyance speed change-over switch 113 counts at a speed of 1500 sheets / minute, for example, when the high speed setting is set, and reduces the conveyance speed when the low speed setting is set, for example, Counting is performed at a speed of 800 sheets / minute. However, this low-speed mode is used when counting wide sheets or poorly aligned sheets, and is normally set to the high-speed mode.

  The start / stop switch 121 can be started after the power is turned on to start the counting operation, and can be stopped when the start / stop switch 121 is arbitrarily stopped during the counting. Then, by pressing the start / stop switch 121, the apparatus is started again and the count can be added.

[Warning lamp]
In FIG. 1, three upper and lower warning lamps 21, 22, 23 provided on the right side surface of the apparatus are, in order from the top, an error display lamp 122, counting halfway lamp 123 and counting end lamp 124 on the operation panel 11. Corresponding to the lamps 122, 123, and 124 of the operation panel 11. Table 1 shows an example of the operation. The warning lamp 21 at the upper position is a red error display lamp, and the paper remains in the main transport path 35, the normal paper transport path 8a, and the abnormal paper transport path 9a, and is jammed. Flashes when an error that cannot be remedied by itself occurs, or when a sensor error or motor error occurs. The warning lamp 22 at the intermediate position is a yellow counting display lamp and lights up when the paper feeding unit 2 is in a standby state due to a shortage of paper. The lower warning lamp 24 is a green counting completion lamp, and lights up in a state where the counting is normally completed for the set number of sheets.

[Control system]
In FIG. 17, the control unit 70 has a CPU 140 including an input / output port, an A / D converter, and a RAM. A power source 141 and a ROM 142 are connected to the CPU 140. The third drive motors 61, 62, 68 and their encoders 61a, 62a, 68a, the stepping motor 96 and its position detection sensor 103, the operation panel 11, the warning lamps 21, 22, 23, etc. are connected. Further, the CPU 140 includes a paper feeding unit sensor S1, an abnormal paper collecting unit sensor S9, a normal paper collecting unit sensor S7, a pair of abnormal paper identification sensors S2 and S2, each path sensor S3, S4, S5, S6, S8, and the front side. The open detection sensor S11 of the case cover portion 86a and the open detection sensor S12 of the rear case cover portion 86b are connected.

[Control method]
In the RAM of the CPU 140 of the control unit 70, the following control is mainly programmed as the switching mechanism 10, the conveyance speed, and other controls.

(Control 1)
As the basic control, in FIG. 6, when the abnormal paper identification sensor S2 detects an abnormality such as double feeding, chaining, two-folded or half-cut state, the third path sensor S5 of the main transport unit 4 thereafter. When the leading edge of the abnormal paper is detected, the conveyance speed by the second drive motor 62 or the second drive motor 62 and the first drive motor 61 for the paper feed unit is set to be higher than the conveyance speed at the time of normal paper identification. While decelerating and rotating the stepping motor 96 by a predetermined angle, the cam 99 (cam gear 98) in FIG. 14 is rotated 90 ° in the direction of arrow B, and the switching mechanism 10 is moved from the normal paper identification position in FIG. Change to the paper identification position. As described above, after the switching mechanism 10 is switched to the abnormal paper identification position, when the rear end of the abnormal paper is detected by the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 in FIG. Simultaneously with returning to the paper conveyance speed, the switching mechanism 10 is returned to the normal paper identification position. Further, when the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 does not detect the passage of the abnormal paper and the normal paper transport path sensor S6 detects the passage of the paper (abnormal paper), the abnormal paper is sent to the normal paper collecting unit 3. If an error occurs, stop the device.

(Control 2) When the number of normal sheets counted by the normal sheet conveyance path sensor S6 and collected in the normal sheet collecting unit 3 reaches a set number (for example, 100 sheets), the first, second, and third drive motors 61, 62, 68, etc. are stopped.

(Control 3)
When the number of abnormal sheets counted by the abnormal sheet conveyance path sensor S8 and discharged to the abnormal sheet collecting section 7 reaches the limit number (for example, 10 sheets), the first, second, and third drive motors 61, 62, and 68 are used. To stop. Further, when the abnormal paper of the abnormal paper collecting unit 7 is extracted and emptied, the drive motors 61, 62, and 68 are automatically restarted.

(Control 4)
When the apparatus is turned on or after error processing, the sensor S2 in each path indicates whether or not there is residual paper in each path 35, 8a, 9a of the main transport unit 4, the normal paper transport unit 8, and the abnormal paper transport unit 9. , S3, S4, S5, S6, and S8, and when the sheet remains, the error display on the operation panel 11 and the warning lamp 21 is turned on. At the same time, an error code such as “Error 1” is displayed on the vote bundle display unit 110 or the count display unit 111.

(Control 5)
When a paper jam, sensor abnormality, motor abnormality or the like occurs in addition to the error due to the remaining paper, the error display of the operation panel 11 and the warning lamp 21 is turned on, and the sheet bundle display unit 110 or the count display unit An error code such as “error 1” is displayed in 111.

[Basic operation]
FIG. 18 is a flowchart relating to the basic operation of the present apparatus, which will be described based on this flowchart.

  Measure the transmittance and transport direction length of the first sheet of paper actually fed by the abnormal paper identification sensor S2, and identify abnormalities such as double feeding, chaining, and double folding based on the measured values. To do.

  In FIG. 18, after the identification reference value is set by the first sheet of counting, in step # 1, the gate member 91 of the switching mechanism 10 is kept at the normal paper identification position or switched to the normal paper identification position. In step # 2, during the counting operation, the abnormal paper identification sensor S2 determines whether or not the paper is in an abnormal state such as double feed based on the reference value. If NO in step # 2, that is, if the paper is normal, the process proceeds to step # 8, and it is determined by the normal paper transport path sensor S6 whether or not the normal paper has passed the normal paper transport path 8a. . If YES in step # 8, that is, if it is detected that the normal paper has passed through the normal paper transport path 8a, it is counted as a normal vote, and the process proceeds to step # 9 where the switching mechanism 10 is moved to the normal paper identification position. And return to the start.

  If NO at step # 8, that is, if the normal paper transport path sensor S6 does not detect the passage of the normal paper, the process proceeds to step # 10, and the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 causes the abnormal paper transport path 9a to be within the abnormal paper transport path 9a. To determine whether normal paper has passed. In the case of YES at step # 10, that is, when the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 detects that the normal paper has passed through the abnormal paper transport path 9a, it is determined that an error has occurred, and the process proceeds to step # 11. Process. For example, the apparatus is stopped or automatically stopped, the normal paper discharged to the abnormal paper collecting unit 7 is extracted from the side, and the apparatus is restarted. If NO in step # 10, that is, if the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 does not detect the passage of normal paper, the process returns to step # 8, and the normal paper passes through the normal paper transport path 8a again. Detect whether or not.

  If YES in step # 2, that is, if an abnormal paper is detected, the process proceeds to step # 3 to determine whether the third main transport path sensor S5 has detected the leading edge of the abnormal paper. If NO, that is, if no abnormal paper is detected, the process returns to step # 3. On the other hand, if YES in step # 3, that is, if the leading edge of the abnormal paper is detected by the third main transport path sensor S5, the first drive motor 61 and the second drive motor 62 are detected in step # 4. , And the conveyance speeds of the paper feeding unit 2, the main conveyance unit 4, the normal paper conveyance unit 8, and the abnormal paper conveyance unit 9 are reduced to, for example, 50 to 70%. In step # 5, the switching mechanism 10 is switched from the normal sheet identification position to the abnormal sheet identification position, and the process proceeds to step # 6. In step # 6, it is determined whether or not the trailing edge of the abnormal paper is detected by the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8. If YES, that is, if the trailing edge of the abnormal paper is detected, the process proceeds to step # 7. By increasing the rotation of the first and second drive motors 61 and 52 to the original high speed rotation, the transport speed of the main transport unit 4 and the like is switched to the original high speed, and the process returns to the start.

  If NO in step # 6, that is, if the abnormal paper transport path sensor S8 does not detect the abnormal paper, the process proceeds to step # 12, and the normal paper transport path sensor S6 detects that the abnormal paper is normal paper transport path. It is determined whether or not 8a has been passed. If YES in step # 12, that is, if it is detected that the abnormal paper has passed through the normal paper conveyance path 8a, it is determined that an error has occurred, and the process proceeds to step # 13 to perform error processing. On the other hand, if NO in step # 12, that is, if the normal paper transport path sensor S6 does not detect the passage of abnormal paper, the process returns to step # 6.

[Summary of effects of this embodiment]
(1) In FIG. 6, the sensors S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, and S8 in the transport direction of the sensors S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, and S8 disposed in the transport unit composed of the main transport unit 4, the normal paper transport unit 8, and the abnormal paper transport unit 9 The distance between the sensors S2 and S3, the distance between the sensors S3 and S4, the distance between the sensors S4 and S5, the distance between the sensors S5 and S6, and the distance between the sensors S5 and S8, A distance in the conveyance direction between the conveyance start end P1 of the main conveyance unit 4 and the sensor S2, and a conveyance direction interval between the conveyance end P2 of the normal paper conveyance unit 8 and the sensor S6; Since the distance in the conveyance direction between the conveyance end P3 of the abnormal paper conveyance unit 9 and the sensor S8 is also equal to or less than the length in the conveyance direction of the paper N, the main conveyance unit 4, the normal paper conveyance unit 8 and the abnormal paper conveyance unit 9 Regardless of where the paper remains, either sensor It is possible to detect the Risono remaining sheet. That is, the remaining paper can be reliably detected at a predetermined time such as when the power is turned on or after paper jam processing.

(2) In particular, the interval in the conveyance direction between the sensors S3, S4, and S5 disposed at the rear of the main conveyance unit 4 is set to be half or less of the length in the conveyance direction of the paper, and is orthogonal to the conveyance direction. Even if a sheet folded in half at a fold along the direction or a half-cut sheet remains in any part of the rear half of the main transport unit 4, the sheet can be reliably detected.

(3) In FIG. 6, the intervals in the sheet conveyance direction of the conveyance rollers 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45 are arranged at intervals equal to or less than half the length of the sheet N in the conveyance direction. Even a sheet folded in half at a fold along the direction or a half-cut sheet can be reliably transported and prevented from remaining in the transport unit.

(4) In FIG. 7, the conveyance rollers 41, 42,... Of the main conveyance unit 4 are collected and arranged in the central portion of the left and right width of the apparatus case 1, and the main conveyance unit 4 among the case cover units 86a and 86b. A window 87 made of a transparent material is formed in a portion located on the left and right sides of the paper so that the state of the paper in the main transport unit 4 can be visually recognized from the outside, so that the flow and jam of the paper during the operation can be confirmed. At the same time, it is possible to easily check the remaining of the paper in the main transport unit 4 when the operation is stopped.

(5) In FIG. 1, at the time of counting ballots for elections, for example, an operator operating the operation panel 11 stands on the right side of the apparatus and is collected by the normal paper collecting unit 3 in order to shorten the work time. A worker who takes out a set number of sheets often stands in the rear of the apparatus and performs collaborative work. However, a warning similar to the warning lamp in the operation panel 11 is provided at a position that can be seen from both the rear and the right. Since the lamps 21, 22 and 23 are provided, not only the operator who operates the panel but also the operator who collects normal paper can simultaneously and easily obtain the upper direction during the error of the apparatus, during counting, at the end of counting, etc. And the counting work efficiency is improved.

(6) In FIG. 16 and Table 1 and the like, as a warning device, a warning lamp 22 is provided to warn of a standby state due to a shortage of paper in the paper feed unit 2, such as a warning lamp 22 at an intermediate position. By independently warning that the stop has occurred in the middle by the warning lamp 22 at the intermediate position, it is possible to prevent the paper from being taken out from the normal paper collecting unit 3 by misunderstanding that the counting has been completed.

(7) Since the stopper 77 of the normal paper collecting unit 3 is formed of a transparent member, for example, when the paper loaded on the paper feeding unit 2 is loaded so that the writing surface is on the upper side, the stopper of the normal paper collecting unit 3 The sheet leaning on 77 is collected so that the writing surface faces rearward, and the writing surface can be easily confirmed through the transparent stopper 77.

(8) Since the stopper 77 of the normal paper collecting unit 3 is formed of a transparent member, for example, when the paper loaded on the paper feeding unit 2 is loaded so that the writing surface is on the upper side, the stopper of the normal paper collecting unit 3 The sheet leaning on 77 is collected so that the writing surface faces rearward, and the writing surface can be easily confirmed through the transparent stopper 77.

[Other embodiments]
(1) In the above embodiment, the interval in the conveyance direction of the three sensors S3, S4, and S5 in the latter half of the main conveyance unit 4 is set to be less than or equal to half the length in the conveyance direction of the paper. As a form, the interval between the conveyance directions of all the sensors arranged in the conveyance unit may be set to be equal to or less than half the length of the sheet in the conveyance direction. For example, in the structure of FIG. 6, between the conveyance start end P <b> 1 of the main conveyance unit 4 and the abnormal paper identification sensor S <b> 2, the position near the intermediate conveyance roller pair 42 near the V-shaped bottom of the main conveyance unit 4, and By adding a sheet detection sensor to each of the rear third main transport path sensor S5 in the transport direction, the distance in the transport direction between all the sensors is made half or less of the length in the transport direction of the sheet.
By adopting such a configuration, even if the folded or half-cut sheet remains in any position in the transport unit, it can be reliably detected when the apparatus is turned on or after error processing.

  The present invention is not limited to a counting device that counts the number of voting papers, tickets, etc., but simply various devices such as a device that separates different types of paper from normal paper, a device that processes sheets other than paper, and the like. It can be applied to a leaf processing apparatus.

It is one Embodiment of the paper sheet processing apparatus concerning this invention, and is a whole perspective view of paper counting devices, such as a voting paper. FIG. 2 is a side view of the paper counting device in FIG. 1. FIG. 3 is a side view similar to FIG. 2, showing an abnormal paper collecting unit opened. It is a vertical side view of the paper counting apparatus of FIG. FIG. 5 is a longitudinal side view similar to FIG. 4 and showing a case cover opened. FIG. 2 is a schematic vertical side view of the paper counting device of FIG. 1 clearly showing the arrangement of transport rollers and sensors. 2 is a schematic plan view of the paper counting device of FIG. 1 clearly showing the arrangement of transport rollers and the like. It is the VIII-VIII cross-sectional enlarged view of FIG. It is a perspective view of a switching mechanism. It is an expansion perspective view of the drive mechanism of a switching mechanism. It is a front view of the cam gear of FIG. FIG. 6 is a longitudinally enlarged side view of a switching mechanism showing a state of a normal paper identification position. It is a vertical expansion side view of the switching mechanism which shows the state of an abnormal paper identification position. It is an operation explanatory view showing the state of the cam at the normal paper identification position. It is action explanatory drawing which shows the state of the cam of an abnormal paper identification position. It is an enlarged view of an operation panel. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of an apparatus. It is a flowchart which shows an example of the work flow of the counting device concerning this invention. It is effect | action explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of double feed detection. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows the state at the time of two folded paper detection.

Explanation of symbols

2 Paper feed unit 3, 7 Normal paper collection unit, abnormal paper collection unit (collection unit)
4, 8, 9 Main transport section, normal paper transport section, abnormal paper transport section (transport section)
21, 22, 23 Warning lamp (warning device)
41, 42, 43, 44, 45 Conveying roller pair 70 Controller S2, S3, S4, S5, S6, S8 Sensor

Claims (5)

A sheet feeding unit that supplies sheets of substantially the same shape one by one; a conveyance unit that conveys the sheets supplied from the sheet feeding unit and performs counting or other processing of the sheets; and the conveyance A paper sheet processing apparatus comprising: a collection unit that collects paper sheets conveyed by the unit;
A plurality of sensors for detecting paper sheets being transported are disposed in the transport unit, and the distance between the sensors in the transport direction and the distance in the transport direction between the transport start end of the transport unit and the sensor closest to the transport start end A paper sheet processing apparatus, wherein the distance in the transport direction between the transport end and the sensor closest to the transport end is set to be equal to or less than the length of the paper in the transport direction. In the paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1,
The distance between the sensors in the conveyance direction, the distance in the conveyance direction between the conveyance start end and the sensor closest to the conveyance start end, and the distance in the conveyance direction between the conveyance end point and the sensor closest to the conveyance end are determined. A paper sheet processing apparatus, wherein the paper length processing apparatus is set to be half or less of a direction length. In the paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1 or 2,
A control unit to which each of the sensors is connected, and a warning device connected to the control unit,
The sensor is configured to detect the presence / absence of paper sheets in the transport unit at a predetermined time other than during processing work, and to activate the warning device when a residual paper sheet is detected. Paper sheet processing apparatus characterized by the above. In the paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 3,
The paper sheet processing apparatus, wherein the predetermined time is when the paper sheet processing apparatus is powered on or after paper sheet jam processing. In the paper sheet processing apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 4,
A paper sheet processing apparatus in which a plurality of rollers for transporting paper sheets are arranged in the transport section at intervals in the transport direction that are not more than half the length of the paper sheet in the transport direction.

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