JP2008132407A - Shredder apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a shredder apparatus which can easily sense whether a thing being inserted into the paper inlet is paper or a part of the human body so as to control the driving of the blade of the cutting mechanism and thereby allows the adjustment of the width of the opening of the paper inlet to a width corresponding to the amount of to-be-shredder sheets of paper, compared with cases involving conventional shredders. <P>SOLUTION: The shredder apparatus has a cutting mechanism cutting paper, an object sensing mechanism which is arranged at the paper inlet introducing inserted sheets of paper to the cutting mechanism and senses whether a thing is charged or not, a permittivity sensing mechanism which is arranged in the vicinity of the paper inlet and senses whether or not the permittivity of a thing approaching the paper inlet is higher than a predetermined threshold and a driving controller which controls the driving of the cutting mechanism according to the results sensed by the object and the permittivity sensing mechanisms. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a shredder device for finely chopping paper sheets, and in particular, detects that an object (mainly paper) is input to a paper input port, and cuts the paper based on the detection result. The present invention relates to a shredder device that has a function of driving teeth of a cutting means or detecting that an object has disappeared from a paper slot and stopping rotation of the teeth.

As is well known, the shredder device cuts paper sheets or the like into thin or very thin pieces, and is widely used in offices and the like.
In this type of shredder apparatus, the paper slot has a wide inlet and a narrow outlet to the cutting means for cutting the paper so that a plurality of sheets can be easily loaded.
That is, the paper insertion slot is for receiving paper sheets to be input, and the opening width (in the thickness direction of the paper) can be easily input so that the number of received paper sheets can be cut at a time. Is usually set.

In addition, the shredder device arranges an optical sensor in a portion of the paper insertion slot through which the paper passes, and when detecting that the paper has been inserted into the paper insertion slot, without pressing a switch for driving the teeth of the cutting means, This tooth is driven to start cutting the inserted paper.
On the other hand, when the inserted paper is completely cut and the optical sensor detects that the paper has run out, the driving of the teeth of the cutting means is stopped (for example, see Patent Document 1).

Here, as described above, in the shredder device that detects the presence of paper and automatically controls the driving of the teeth of the cutting means, the opening width (width in the thickness direction of the paper bundle) is set narrow. This is for guiding the paper sheets to the cutting means with high accuracy, and for safety reasons, the setting is made as narrow as possible so that the finger is not drawn along the bundle of paper.
Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 09-94472

However, in the above-described conventional example, the opening width is limited. However, in practice, when a paper jam occurs in the paper loading unit, considering that the jammed paper is taken out, the opening width of the paper loading port is reversed. Is easier to deal with.
Therefore, as in this conventional example, from the viewpoint of accuracy and safety, if the width of the paper slot is too narrow, the amount of paper that can be loaded for cutting at one time decreases, and the function as a shredder device Will be reduced.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and can easily detect whether the paper inserted into the paper slot is a paper or a human body and control the driving of the teeth of the cutting means. Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to provide a shredder device that can make the opening width of the paper insertion slot corresponding to the amount of paper to be cut as compared with the conventional example.

The shredder apparatus of the present invention includes a cutting means for cutting paper, an object detection means for detecting whether or not an object has been placed, which is disposed in a paper slot for guiding the loaded paper to the cutting means, and the paper feeding A dielectric constant detecting means for detecting whether or not a dielectric constant of an object disposed in the vicinity of the mouth and close to the paper slot is higher than a predetermined threshold; and detection by the object detecting means and the dielectric constant detecting means According to the result, it has a drive control part which controls a drive of the above-mentioned cutting means.
With the configuration described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to easily detect whether an object close to the paper slot is a human body having a higher dielectric constant than air or paper, and cutting with high safety. The means can control the cutting process.

The shredder apparatus of the present invention is configured so that the drive control unit receives the detection result indicating that an object has been input and the detection result indicating that the dielectric constant of the object is lower than a threshold value. On the other hand, even if an inspection result indicating that an object is inserted is input, if the detection result indicating that the dielectric constant of the object is higher than the threshold value is input, the cutting device is not driven. Features.
With the configuration described above, according to the present invention, when an object having a dielectric constant higher than the threshold value is close to the paper slot, the drive control unit stops the operation of the cutting means even if paper is inserted. Therefore, high safety can be ensured.

In the shredder apparatus according to the present invention, the paper insertion port is formed in a rectangular shape, and the dielectric constant detecting means has an electrode on each of the long side inner wall portions extending in the opposing longitudinal direction on the inner wall defining the paper insertion port. And a dielectric constant of an object in the vicinity between the electrodes is detected as a capacitance value.
With the configuration described above, according to the present invention, since the detecting means for detecting a change in the dielectric constant is disposed in the vicinity of the paper insertion slot, it is possible to easily detect a human body close to the paper insertion slot.

In the shredder device of the present invention, the dielectric constant detecting means is provided with an electrode on the upper surface of the casing near the paper insertion slot, and close to the electrode near the paper insertion slot depending on a capacitance value between the electrode and the ground. The dielectric constant of an object is detected.
With the configuration described above, according to the present invention, since the detecting means for detecting a change in the dielectric constant is disposed in the vicinity of the paper insertion slot, it is possible to easily detect a human body close to the paper insertion slot.

  As described above, according to the present invention, whether the object close to the paper slot is paper by disposing the dielectric constant detection means (capacitance sensor) in the vicinity of the paper slot where the paper to be cut is inserted. It is possible to detect whether or not the substance has a dielectric constant larger than that of paper (for example, a human body), that is, whether the object placed in the paper insertion slot is paper. It is possible to control so that the shredder teeth are driven when it is detected and the shredder teeth are not driven when it is detected that the substance has a higher dielectric constant than paper. Thus, safety can be ensured without narrowing the paper slot, and the amount of paper to be cut can be increased as compared with the conventional case, and the efficiency of the cutting process can be improved.

<First Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a shredder apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an internal configuration viewed from the side of the shredder apparatus according to the embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view of an insertion port for feeding paper to be cut as viewed from above the shredder apparatus.
In this figure, an oscillator 101 outputs an AC signal having a maximum voltage Vm having a frequency f to an electrode 103 via a resistor 102.

The electrode 103 is disposed on one inner wall of the paper insertion port 150 and constitutes a parallel plate capacitor together with the electrode 104 disposed on the opposed inner wall.
As shown in FIG. 2, the paper insertion port 150 is formed in a rectangular shape on the upper surface portion of the shredder apparatus, and has an inner wall of each long side that extends in the longitudinal direction so as to be parallel to each other, that is, a long side inner wall portion. The electrode 103 is disposed on 150A, and the electrode 104 is disposed on the long side inner wall 150B facing the long side inner wall 150A.
In addition, the length of the short side extending in the short-side direction facing the paper feeding unit 150 in parallel, that is, the opening width of the paper feeding unit 150 is d.

The buffer 105 has an input terminal connected to the electrode 104, and a detection AC signal input from the electrode 104 is amplified with a preset amplification degree and output to the integrator 106.
The integrator 106 has a circuit configuration having both functions of a full-wave rectification circuit and an integration circuit. The control unit 107 generates a detection signal D1 obtained by full-wave rectifying the detected AC signal and further integrating the rectified signal. To the terminal A / D1.
The proximity switch 111 is configured by, for example, an optical sensor or an ultrasonic sensor. When the proximity switch 111 detects that an object, for example, paper, has been inserted into the paper insertion port 150, the detection signal D2 is sent to the terminal A / D2 of the control unit 107. Output.

The control unit 107 is formed as a circuit including, for example, a CPU, and the voltage levels of the detection signal D1 input from the terminal A / D1 and the detection signal D2 input from the terminal A / D2 are respectively set. It is converted into a digital value by a built-in A / D converter and compared with threshold voltages K1 and K2 set in advance.
In addition, the control unit 107 detects that the capacitance value of the plate parallel capacitor is a numerical value based on the dielectric constant of air based on the above-described comparison result, that is, detects that the human body is not close to the paper insertion port 150. When it is detected that the proximity switch 111 has been inserted into the paper insertion slot 150, the motor 112 is driven to rotate the vertical cutting rotary teeth 113 and the horizontal cutting rotary teeth 114, which are cutting means. Cut.

  On the other hand, when the control unit 107 detects that the capacitance value of the plate parallel capacitor is a numerical value based on the dielectric constant of the human body, that is, detects that the human body is close to the paper insertion port 150, the control unit 107 is close to the paper insertion port 150. When it is detected that the object is not paper, even if it is detected that the proximity switch 111 is inserted into the paper insertion slot 150, the motor 112 is not driven, and the vertical cutting rotary teeth 113 and the horizontal cutting teeth are cut. The rotating tooth 114 is not rotated.

Next, the operation of the shredder apparatus according to the first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG.
As described above, the electrode 103 and the electrode 104 disposed in the paper insertion port 150 constitute a parallel plate capacitor. The capacitance C (F: Farad) of this parallel plate capacitor is determined by the following equation (1).
C = (ε × S) / d (1)

Therefore, normally, when nothing is inserted, since there is only air between the parallel plate capacitors, the dielectric constant ε is equal to the dielectric constant ε0 of air. S is an area where the electrode 103 and the electrode 104 are opposed to each other, and d is a distance between the electrode 103 and the electrode 104, that is, an opening width of the input port 150 described below.
In addition, the dielectric constant varies with frequency, but as a rule, the dielectric constant εp of paper (relative dielectric constant is about 2 to 3) is a value close to air, so the capacitance value of the parallel plate capacitor is slightly Although it changes, the change in the capacitance value is significantly lower than the dielectric constant εh (relative dielectric constant 60 to 70) of the human body.

The impedance of the parallel plate capacitor is expressed by the following equation (2): Xc = 1 / (2πfCt) (2)
Therefore, when a human body, for example, a finger is inserted or placed between parallel plate capacitors, a parallel plate capacitor (capacitance value Cp) in the region of permittivity ε0 or permittivity εp and a parallel plate in the region of permittivity εh are obtained. The capacitor (capacitance value Ch) is connected in parallel, and the capacitance Ct of the entire parallel plate capacitor is a capacitance value according to the following equation (3).
Ct = α · Ch + (1−α) · C0 (3)

As the contribution ratio of the parallel plate capacitor due to εh having a high dielectric constant increases, the capacitance Ct of the entire parallel plate capacitor increases, so that the impedance of the parallel plate capacitor decreases. Here, the coefficient α indicates the contribution ratio of the capacitance value Ch of the parallel plate capacitor by the dielectric constant ε.
As a result, the impedance Z = (R2 + Xc2) ^1/2 due to the series connection of the resistor 102 (resistance value R) inserted between the transmitter 101 and the buffer 105 and the parallel plate capacitor becomes the capacitance change of the parallel plate capacitor. It will change correspondingly.

Therefore, by detecting the change in the impedance Z, the change in the dielectric constant ε of the parallel plate capacitor can be detected.
As a result, as the distance to the parallel plate capacitor decreases, the contribution ratio of the capacitance of the parallel plate capacitor in the region of dielectric constant εh increases, and by detecting the change in impedance Z, the parallel plate capacitor of the human body (ie, , The degree of approach to the paper slot 150) can be detected.

The detected AC signal input to the input terminal of the buffer 105 changes the attenuation rate of the voltage level (the voltage value of the entire AC waveform including the maximum voltage Vm) due to the impedance Z. For example, since the impedance Z is higher when not inserted into the parallel plate capacitor and when the inserted substance is paper than when the human body is inserted, the attenuation factor also increases.
That is, in the parallel plate capacitor, the dielectric constant ε increases due to the proximity of the human body, so that the impedance Z of the parallel side plate capacitor decreases, and the attenuation rate of the AC signal decreases and is transmitted from the electrode 103 to the electrode 104. As a result, the voltage level of the AC signal increases. As a result, a change in impedance Z, that is, a change in capacitance C of the parallel plate capacitor due to a change in dielectric constant can be detected.

Here, the voltage between the voltage value of the detection signal D1 input when a human body is inserted and the voltage value of the detection signal D1 input when paper having a dielectric constant higher than that of air is inserted, For example, by setting the threshold voltage K1 to the central voltage value, it is possible to detect whether the inserted substance is paper or a human body. This threshold voltage K1 is set corresponding to the change in the dielectric constant, and is the same as the threshold for the dielectric constant.
In the above-described case, when the human body is inserted into the paper insertion slot 150, even if not completely inserted, the capacity C of the parallel plate capacitor is changed, that is, the proximity of the human body to the paper insertion slot 150 (parallel plate). In this case, a threshold voltage K1 that can be reliably detected is extracted and set.

In the following description, it is assumed that the shredder device is turned on and the oscillator 101 starts outputting an AC wave having the maximum voltage Vm at the set frequency f.
(1) Operation of the shredder apparatus when no paper is inserted Since the paper 110 is not inserted into the paper slot 150, the control unit 107 detects the detection signal D2 output from the proximity switch 111 from the threshold voltage K2. Since the detection signal D2 input from the integrator 106 is smaller than the threshold voltage K2, it is detected that the detection signal D2 is lower than the threshold voltage K2.
Thereby, the control unit 107 detects that the cutting means is not driven, and does not drive the motor 112, but rotates the vertical cutting rotary teeth 113 and the horizontal cutting rotary teeth 114 which are the cutting means. I won't let you.

(2) Operation of the shredder apparatus when the human body is inserted without approaching the paper insertion slot Since the paper 110 is inserted into the paper insertion slot 150, the control unit 107 outputs the proximity switch 111. Since the detection signal D2 to be detected is higher than the threshold voltage K2 and the human body is not close to the paper insertion slot 150, it is detected that the detection signal D2 input from the integrator 106 is smaller than the threshold voltage K2.
As a result, the control unit 107 detects that the cutting means is being driven, drives the motor 112, rotates the cutting rotary teeth 113 and the transverse cutting teeth 114, which are cutting means, and inserts them. The cut paper is cut.

The control unit 107 stops driving the motor 112 when the cutting of the paper 110 is completed, that is, because the paper 110 is out, and the control unit 107 detects that the detection signal D2 from the proximity switch 111 is lower than the threshold voltage K2. Then, the rotation of the vertical cutting rotary tooth 113 and the horizontal cutting rotary tooth 114, which are cutting means, is stopped.
Further, when the control unit 107 detects that the detection signal D1 has increased with respect to the threshold voltage K1 while the inserted paper is being cut, the control unit 107 stops driving the motor 112 and cuts the cutting unit. The rotation of the vertical cutting rotary teeth 113 and the horizontal cutting rotary teeth 114 is stopped.

(3) Shredder operation when a human body is inserted close to the paper insertion slot The control unit 107 detects that the proximity switch 111 outputs because the paper 110 is inserted into the paper insertion slot 150. It is detected that the signal D2 is higher than the threshold voltage K2. On the other hand, since the human body is close to the paper slot 150, the detection signal D2 input from the integrator 106 is larger than the threshold voltage K2. To detect.
As a result, the control unit 107 detects that the human body is close to the paper slot 150 and does not drive the cutting means, and does not drive the motor 112 and rotates the vertical cutting that is the cutting means. The teeth 113 and the transverse rotating teeth 114 are not rotated.

<Second Embodiment>
Hereinafter, a shredder apparatus according to a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 3 is a conceptual diagram showing an example of an internal configuration viewed from the side of the shredder apparatus according to the embodiment. In the configuration of the second embodiment, the same components as those of the second embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, description thereof is omitted, and only different configurations and operations are described.
The second embodiment differs from the first embodiment in that, unlike the first embodiment, which detects the proximity of a human body by a change in the dielectric constant of a parallel plate capacitor, an upper surface near the inlet of the shredder device. The purpose is to detect whether or not a human body is in the vicinity of the paper insertion slot 150 by a change in dielectric constant in the space between the provided electrode 203 and the ground (earth).

The electrode 203 is formed in an area for obtaining a necessary capacity in the direction of the long side 150A of the paper slot 150, for example, in the vicinity of the paper slot 150, for example, as shown in FIG. A CM capacitor 204 is formed.
The electrode 203 is connected to one terminal of the resistor 103, and the other terminal of the resistor 103 is connected to the oscillator 101.
As a result, the voltage level of the AC signal output from the oscillator 101 is attenuated by the primary low-pass filter formed by the resistor 102 and the capacitor 204.

The attenuation level by the first-order low-pass filter is affected by the capacitance value of the capacitor 203 as can be seen from the following equations (4) and (5). Here, the voltage Vo of the AC signal input to the buffer 105 is the voltage Vm of the AC signal output from the oscillator 101.
Vo = Vm / (1 + j · ω · CM · R) (4)
ω = 2πf (5)
Here, R is the resistance value of the resistor 102.

As can be seen from the equation (4), the attenuation level of the AC signal output from the primary low-pass filter depends on the capacitance CM of the capacitor 204.
The capacitance CM of the capacitor 204 changes depending on the dielectric constant of the object M between the electrode 203 and the ground GND, and increases as the human body approaches the electrode 203.
Therefore, according to the equation (4), the voltage level of the signal input to the terminal A / D1 of the control unit 107 decreases as the human body approaches the electrode 203 and the capacitance CM increases.
Thus, in this embodiment, by detecting the change in the capacitance value of the stray capacitance between the ground and the electrode 203 disposed adjacent to the paper slot of the shredder device, the ground and the shredder device It is possible to easily detect a change in dielectric constant between the electrode 203 disposed adjacent to the paper slot.

Therefore, the voltage value of the detection signal D1 input when the object M is air, that is, the human body is not close to the electrode 203, and the voltage value of the detection signal D1 input when the human body is close to the electrode 203. By setting the threshold voltage K1 to a voltage between them, for example, the central voltage value, it is possible to detect whether or not the human body has approached the paper slot 150.
Here, the case where the human body is approached means the proximity of the human body to the paper insertion port 150, and a threshold that can detect the proximity of the human body to the paper insertion port 150 by performing an experiment of proximity to the electrode 203. The voltage K1 is extracted and set.

In the following description, it is assumed that the shredder device is turned on and the oscillator 101 starts outputting an AC wave having the maximum voltage Vm at the set frequency f.
(1) Operation of the shredder apparatus when no paper is inserted Since the paper 110 is not inserted into the paper slot 150, the control unit 107 detects the detection signal D2 output from the proximity switch 111 from the threshold voltage K2. Since it is low and the human body is not close to the paper insertion slot 150, it is detected that the detection signal D2 input from the integrator 106 is higher than the threshold voltage K2.
Thereby, the control unit 107 detects that the cutting means is not driven, and does not drive the motor 112, but rotates the vertical cutting rotary teeth 113 and the horizontal cutting rotary teeth 114 which are the cutting means. I won't let you.

(2) Operation of the shredder apparatus when the human body is inserted without approaching the paper insertion slot Since the paper 110 is inserted into the paper insertion slot 150, the control unit 107 outputs the proximity switch 111. Since the detection signal D2 to be detected is higher than the threshold voltage K2 and the human body is not close to the paper slot 150, it is detected that the detection signal D2 input from the integrator 106 is higher than the threshold voltage K2.
As a result, the control unit 107 detects that the cutting means is being driven, drives the motor 112, rotates the cutting rotary teeth 113 and the transverse cutting teeth 114, which are cutting means, and inserts them. The cut paper is cut.

When the cutting of the paper 100 is completed, that is, the paper 110 is exhausted, the control unit 107 stops driving the motor 112 when detecting that the detection signal D2 from the proximity switch 111 is lower than the threshold voltage K2. Then, the rotation of the vertical cutting rotary tooth 113 and the horizontal cutting rotary tooth 114, which are cutting means, is stopped.
Further, when the control unit 107 detects that the detection signal D1 has decreased with respect to the threshold voltage K1 while the inserted paper is being cut, the control unit 107 stops driving the motor 112 and cuts the cutting unit. The rotation of the vertical cutting rotary teeth 113 and the horizontal cutting rotary teeth 114 is stopped.

(3) Shredder operation when a human body is inserted close to the paper insertion slot The control unit 107 detects that the proximity switch 111 outputs because the paper 110 is inserted into the paper insertion slot 150. It is detected that the signal D2 is higher than the threshold voltage K2. On the other hand, since the human body is close to the paper slot 150, the detection signal D1 input from the integrator 106 is smaller than the threshold voltage K1. To detect.
As a result, the control unit 107 detects that the human body is close to the paper slot 150 and does not drive the cutting means, and does not drive the motor 112 and rotates the vertical cutting that is the cutting means. The teeth 113 and the transverse rotating teeth 114 are not rotated.

It is a conceptual diagram of the cross section which shows the structure of the shredder apparatus by 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the upper surface of a shredder apparatus which shows arrangement | positioning of the electrode 103 and the electrode 104 in the paper slot 150 in FIG. It is a conceptual diagram of the cross section which shows the structure of the shredder apparatus by 2nd Embodiment of this invention. It is a conceptual diagram of the upper surface of a shredder apparatus which shows arrangement | positioning of the electrode 203 in the paper slot 150 in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 101 ... Oscillator 102 ... Resistors 103, 104, 203 ... Electrode 105 ... Buffer 106 ... Integrator 107 ... Control part 112 ... Motor 113 ... Rotary tooth 114 for vertical cutting ... Rotary tooth 150 for horizontal cutting ... Paper insertion port

Claims (4)

A cutting means for cutting paper;
An object detection means for detecting whether or not an object has been placed, which is disposed at a paper slot for guiding the inserted paper to the cutting means;
A dielectric constant detecting means that is disposed in the vicinity of the paper slot and detects whether the dielectric constant of an object close to the paper slot is higher than a preset threshold;
A shredder apparatus comprising: a drive control unit that controls driving of the cutting unit according to detection results of the object detection unit and the dielectric constant detection unit.   The drive control unit drives the cutting means when a detection result indicating that an object has been thrown in and a detection result indicating that the dielectric constant of the object is lower than a threshold are input. 2. The cutting apparatus is not driven when a detection result indicating that the dielectric constant of an object is higher than a threshold value is input even if an inspection result indicating that is inserted is input. The shredder device described. The paper slot is formed in a rectangular shape,
The dielectric constant detecting means has a capacitor in which electrodes are formed on each of the inner walls of the long sides extending in the opposing longitudinal direction on the inner wall defining the paper slot, and the dielectric constant of an object adjacent between the electrodes is determined. The shredder device according to claim 1, wherein the shredder device is detected as a capacitance value.   The dielectric constant detecting means is provided with an electrode on the upper surface of the housing near the paper slot, and the dielectric constant of an object close to the electrode near the paper slot is determined by a capacitance value between the electrode and the ground. The shredder device according to claim 1, wherein the shredder device is detected.

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