JP2011162317A - Paper sheet carrying mechanism and paper sheet processing device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a paper sheet carrying mechanism capable of highly reliably carrying paper sheets, in the paper sheet carrying mechanism arranging carrier belts only on one surface side of the carrier paper sheets. <P>SOLUTION: This paper sheet carrying mechanism 50 includes at least two carrier belts 54 arranged in parallel and a base part 52 oppositely arranged to the respective carrier belts 54 and sandwiching the carried paper sheets P between the respective carrier belts 54 and itself. The respective carrier belts 54 carry the paper sheets P by frictional force by contacting with a part of one surface of the paper sheets P. In the base part 52, at least two grooves 56 are respectively extendedly arranged along the carrying direction of the paper sheets P so as to correspond to the respective carrier belts 54, and the paper sheets P are stably carried by restricting the size of a width (a) of the respective grooves 56. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper sheet transport mechanism for transporting paper sheets such as banknotes and checks between a plurality of transport belts provided in parallel and a base provided to correspond to each transport belt, and the paper The present invention relates to a paper sheet transport apparatus including a leaf transport mechanism.

  Conventionally, various types of paper sheet transport mechanisms that transport paper sheets such as banknotes and checks are known. For example, Patent Documents 1 and 2 disclose a paper sheet transport mechanism of a type that transports a paper sheet from both sides with a transport belt. According to this type of paper sheet transport mechanism, the paper sheet can be reliably transported, but on the other hand, the transport belt and the drive unit for driving the transport belt are arranged on both sides of the paper sheet. Therefore, there is a problem that the overall cost of the mechanism is increased.

  Further, in Patent Document 3, a paper sheet is sandwiched between a fixed protruding portion and a transport belt, and the paper sheet is transported by a frictional force acting between one surface of the paper sheet and the transport belt. Such a paper sheet transport mechanism is disclosed. A paper sheet transport mechanism disclosed in Patent Document 3 is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, in the paper sheet transport mechanism 90 disclosed in Patent Document 3, between the two fixed protrusions 92 and each of the three transport belts 94, 95, 96. The paper sheet P is sandwiched, and the paper sheet P is transported by the frictional force acting between one surface (upper surface) of the paper sheet P and each of the transport belts 94, 95, and 96. Yes. According to this type of paper sheet transport mechanism 90, each of the transport belts 94, 95, 96 and a drive unit (not shown) for driving the transport belts 94, 95, 96 are provided on the paper sheet P. Therefore, the overall cost of the mechanism is lower than that of the type in which the conveyor belt and the drive unit are respectively disposed on both sides of the paper sheet P. However, in this type of paper sheet transport mechanism 90, the frictional force generated between each of the transport belts 94, 95, and 96 and the paper sheet P becomes the transport force of the paper sheet P, while the protruding portion Since the frictional force generated between the sheet 92 and the paper sheet P becomes a resistance force to the conveyance of the paper sheet P, there is a problem that the force for conveying the paper sheet P is weakened. In particular, in the paper sheet transport mechanism 90 as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the two outer transport belts 94, 96 out of the three transport belts 94, 95, 96 provided in parallel are the paper sheets. P is curved, but from the principle of leverage, the frictional force generated between the two outer conveying belts 94, 96 and the paper sheet P is reduced, while the protrusion 92 and the paper sheet generated at the base portion of the curve are reduced. A relatively large frictional force is surely generated with the class P. For this reason, there is a problem that the resistance generated in the paper sheet P during the conveyance becomes relatively large, and the conveyance of the paper sheet P tends to become unstable. Specifically, for example, slip occurs between the paper sheet P and each of the two outer conveyance belts 94 and 96, and the conveyance speed of the paper sheet P is the speed of each of the conveyance belts 94, 95, and 96. There is a possibility that the paper sheet P becomes slower or the paper sheet P stays in the transport path or skews.

  For this reason, in the paper sheet transport mechanism 90 as disclosed in Patent Document 3, a plurality of protrusions 94a, 95a, and 96a are provided on the transport surfaces of the transport belts 94, 95, and 96 in order to improve transport reliability. It has been. However, when the paper sheet P is sent to the transport belts 94, 95, and 96, it is necessary to feed the paper sheet P between the protrusions on each transport belt, and this timing must be controlled. There is.

JP-A-2005-22779 US 6,273,413 B1 US 6,629,694 B2

  The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points, and in a paper sheet transport mechanism in which a transport belt is disposed only on one side of a transported paper sheet, the transport of a highly reliable paper sheet is performed. The purpose is to provide what can be done. Another object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet processing apparatus having such a paper sheet transport mechanism.

  The present invention provides at least two conveyor belts provided in parallel, wherein each of the conveyor belts contacts a part of one surface of the paper sheet and conveys the paper sheet by frictional force. A belt and a base that is provided so as to face each of the transport belts and that is configured to sandwich a paper sheet to be transported between the transport belts, the base corresponding to the transport belts The at least two grooves are provided so as to extend along the conveying direction of the paper sheet, and the width of each groove is smaller than the interval between the pair of adjacent grooves. It is a transport mechanism.

  Further, the present invention is at least two conveyor belts provided in parallel, and each of the conveyor belts contacts a part of one surface of the paper sheet and conveys the paper sheet by a frictional force. And a base portion that is provided so as to be opposed to each of the transport belts and sandwiched between the transport belts, and the base portion includes a base portion that is sandwiched between the transport belts. Correspondingly, at least two grooves are provided so as to extend along the sheet conveying direction, respectively, and the horizontal distance between the side end surface of each conveying belt and the groove end of each groove is The paper sheet transport mechanism is characterized by being smaller than the width of each transport belt.

  According to the paper sheet transport mechanism as described above, when the transport belt is disposed only on one side of the transported paper sheet, a plurality of grooves are formed in the width direction of the paper sheet so as to correspond to each transport belt. In parallel with each other, each paper belt is transported from the paper sheets by restricting the width of each groove so as not to become too large. The force applied to the conveying surface of each of the grooves and the end of each groove is almost the same, and the conveying surface of each conveying belt is surely generated by the conveying surface of each conveying belt due to the difference in friction coefficient, and a plurality of conveying belts are provided. As a result, troubles such as skewing are less likely to occur when transporting paper sheets, so that it is possible to transport paper sheets with high reliability.

  In the paper sheet transport mechanism of the present invention, the height of the outer groove end portion of the outermost groove among the at least two grooves provided in the base portion may be lower than the height of the inner groove end portion. Good. As a result, when the paper sheets are conveyed, the paper sheets are pressed from above by the respective conveyor belts, whereby the end portions (one end portion or both end portions) in the width direction of each paper sheet float upward (that is, , Being largely separated from the base). For this reason, it can prevent that the edge part of this paper sheet collides with the guide etc. in a paper sheet conveyance mechanism.

  In the paper sheet transport mechanism of the present invention, in each groove provided in the base portion, the height of at least one of the pair of groove end portions of the groove is the height of the transport surface of the transport belt corresponding to the groove. It may be higher than the height. As a result, the conveying surface of the conveying belt is positioned below (at the side closer to the bottom of the groove) at least one of the pair of groove end portions of each groove provided in the base portion. A part of the paper sheet contacting the transport surface can be surely put in the groove.

  At this time, the width of each groove provided in the base may be larger than the width of the opposed conveying belt and smaller than twice the width of the conveying belt. As a result, at least a part of the conveyance belt can be surely inserted into the groove, and the groove width can be prevented from becoming too large with respect to the width of the conveyance belt. For this reason, it is possible to efficiently press the paper sheets from above with the conveying belt.

  In the paper sheet transport mechanism of the present invention, there is provided detection means for detecting the width of the paper sheet to be sent between each of the transport belts and the base, and the detection means Only the paper sheets whose width is detected to be within a predetermined range may be sent between the respective conveyor belts and the base. This prevents paper sheets whose width is too large or too small from being sent between each conveyor belt and the base, so that the paper sheets sent between each conveyor belt and the base are Can be reliably conveyed between each conveyor belt and the base.

  In addition, the paper sheet processing apparatus of the present invention includes the paper sheet transport mechanism as described above. For this reason, it is possible to carry a highly reliable paper sheet in the paper sheet transport mechanism of the paper sheet processing apparatus.

  According to the paper sheet transport mechanism of the present invention, it is possible to transport a highly reliable paper sheet when the transport belt is disposed only on one side of the transported paper sheet. Moreover, according to the paper sheet processing apparatus of the present invention, the paper sheet transport mechanism as described above is provided, and the paper sheet transport mechanism can transport a highly reliable paper sheet. it can.

It is a lineblock diagram showing roughly the composition of the bill processing device by one embodiment of the present invention. It is sectional drawing which shows one structure of the banknote conveyance mechanism in the banknote processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows a state when a banknote is conveyed in the banknote conveyance mechanism shown to FIG. 2A. It is a perspective view of a bill conveyance mechanism shown in Drawing 2A. It is a perspective view which shows a state when a banknote is conveyed in the banknote conveyance mechanism shown to FIG. 2C. It is sectional drawing which shows the other structure of the banknote conveyance mechanism in the banknote processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is sectional drawing which shows the further another structure of the banknote conveyance mechanism in the banknote processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the structure of the conventional paper sheet conveyance mechanism. It is sectional drawing of the paper sheet conveyance mechanism shown in FIG.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. 1 to 4 are views showing a banknote transport mechanism according to the present embodiment and a banknote handling apparatus including the banknote transport mechanism. In the present embodiment, a banknote handling apparatus that processes banknotes is used as the paper sheet handling apparatus, and a banknote transport mechanism that transports banknotes is used as the paper sheet transporting mechanism. However, the paper sheet transport mechanism and the paper sheet processing apparatus provided with the paper sheet transport mechanism in the present invention are not limited to the banknote transport mechanism and the banknote processing apparatus, respectively. It may be configured to carry and process paper sheets (for example, checks).

  An outline of the configuration of the banknote handling apparatus 10 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. The banknote processing apparatus 10 includes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped housing 12, and the banknote processing apparatus 10 includes three units: an upper unit 10a, a center unit 10b, and a lower unit 10c. In the upper unit 10 a of the banknote handling apparatus 10, a banknote insertion unit 14 for inserting banknotes from the outside of the housing 12 and a banknote dispensing for throwing out banknotes inside the housing 12 to the outside. Each part 16 is provided. Further, in the upper unit 10 a of the banknote handling apparatus 10, a transport unit 28 that transports the banknotes fed one by one into the housing 12 by the banknote insertion unit 14 in the housing 12 inside the housing 12. Is provided. Also, the transport unit 28 is provided with an identification unit 22, which is, for example, a denomination or authenticity of a banknote that is fed into the housing 12 by the banknote insertion unit 14 and transported by the transport unit 28. It is designed to identify damages. Moreover, the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 explained in full detail later is provided in the center part unit 10b so that it may extend in the up-down direction, and this banknote conveyance mechanism 50 is connected to the conveyance part 28 of the upper unit 10a.

  Further, in the upper unit 10 a of the banknote handling apparatus 10, the reject unit 18 is connected to the transport unit 28. Then, rejected banknotes that are transferred to the inside of the housing 12 by the banknote insertion unit 14 and identified as not normal banknotes from the banknotes identified by the identifying unit 22 are sent from the transport unit 28 to the rejecting unit 18. ing. The reject unit 18 communicates with the outside of the housing 12, and the reject banknote sent to the reject unit 18 can be taken out from the outside of the housing 12. Further, in the upper unit 10 a of the banknote handling apparatus 10, a temporary storage unit 20 is connected to the transport unit 28. The temporary storage unit 20 is configured to temporarily hold a banknote that is recognized as a normal banknote among banknotes that are fed into the housing 12 by the banknote insertion unit 14 and identified by the identification unit 22. .

  The banknote handling apparatus 10 is provided with a plurality of (for example, four) storage cassettes 30, 32, 34, and 40. Of these, three storage cassettes 30, 32, and 34 store banknotes by denomination. It has become so. More specifically, each storage cassette 30, 32, 34 is provided with one storage section 30a, 32a, 34a, and is sent from the transport section 28 of the upper unit 10a to each storage cassette 30, 32, 34. The banknotes are stored in the storage units 30a, 32a, and 34a. Specifically, each storage unit 30a, 32a, 34a is provided with a stacking table on which banknotes are stacked, and the banknotes are stacked on the stacking table in a stacked state. . The storage units 30a, 32a, and 34a have feeding mechanisms 30p, 32p, and 34p, respectively. The banknotes stored in the storage units 30a, 32a, and 34a are transported by the feeding mechanisms 30p, 32p, and 34p. It is possible to feed one by one to 28.

  On the other hand, the storage cassette 40 is provided with three storage portions 40a, 40b, and 40c arranged in the vertical direction. And a banknote is sent to the accommodating part 40a from the conveyance part 28 of the upper unit 10a, and this sent banknote is accommodated. On the other hand, banknotes are respectively sent from the banknote transport mechanism 50 of the central unit 10b to the storage units 40b and 40c, and the sent banknotes are stored therein. The storage units 40a, 40b, and 40c have feeding mechanisms 40p, 40q, and 40r, respectively, and the banknotes stored in the storage units 40a, 40b, and 40c are transported by the feeding mechanisms 40p, 40q, and 40r, respectively. 28 and the banknote transport mechanism 50 can be fed one by one.

  These four storage cassettes 30, 32, 34, and 40 are accommodated in the cassette accommodating portion 38. When the cassette accommodating portion 38 is pulled out from the central unit 10b in the horizontal direction, the respective accommodating cassettes 30, 32, 34, and 40 are accommodated. Can be taken out from the cassette housing portion 38 upward.

  The central unit 10b of the banknote handling apparatus 10 is provided with a scrutiny storage unit 24 in which banknotes are temporarily stored when performing a scrutiny process. The scrutiny storage unit 24 is connected to the transport unit 28, and banknotes are transported from the storage cassettes 30, 32, 34, and 40 when the banknotes in the storage cassettes 30, 32, 34, and 40 are scrutinized. The bills are stored via the section 28 and can be fed out to the transport section 28. More specifically, the scrutiny storage unit 24 has a feeding mechanism 24p, and the bills stored in the scrutiny storage unit 24 can be fed out to the transport unit 28 by the feeding mechanism 24p.

  The lower unit 10c of the banknote handling apparatus 10 is provided with a mixed storage unit 26 that stores banknotes in a state where, for example, denominations are mixed. The mixed storage unit 26 is connected to the banknote transport mechanism 50, and various banknotes of various denominations are sent from the banknote transport mechanism 50 and stored, and the stored banknotes can be fed out to the banknote transport mechanism 50. It is like that. More specifically, the mixing and storing unit 26 has a feeding mechanism 26p, and the bills stored in the mixing and storing unit 26 can be fed to the bill transport mechanism 50 by the feeding mechanism 26p.

  Next, one configuration of the banknote transport mechanism 50 will be described with reference to FIGS. 2A to 2D. The banknote conveyance mechanism 50 conveys a banknote in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2A and FIG. 2B. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2A and the like, the banknote transport mechanism 50 includes two transport belts 54 provided in parallel, and a base 52 provided to face the transport belts 54. . Each conveyance belt 54 has its conveyance surface 54a in contact with one surface (the upper surface in FIGS. 2A and 2B) of the banknote P, and the frictional force causes the banknote P to move in a direction perpendicular to the paper surface of FIG. It is designed to carry. Further, the bills P to be transported are sandwiched between the transport belts 54 and the base 52.

  As shown in FIGS. 2A to 2D, the base 52 is provided with two grooves 56 corresponding to the respective conveyor belts 54. Each groove | channel 56 is provided so that it may each extend along the conveyance direction (direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2A etc.) of the banknote P. As shown in FIG. When the bill P is transported, the bill P is pressed from above by the pair of transport belts 54 and is transported on the base 52 in a state where a part of the bill P enters each groove 56. Here, the size of the width a of each groove 56 is smaller than the interval b between the pair of adjacent grooves 56.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2A and the like, the height c of the outer groove end portion 56a in each groove 56 is lower than the height d of the inner groove end portion 56b. In each groove 56, at least one of the pair of groove end portions 56a and 56b, specifically, the height d of the inner groove end portion 56b in the example shown in FIG. The height of the conveying surface 54a of the conveying belt 54 is higher. Further, the width a of each groove 56 is larger than the width of the opposite conveying belt 54 and smaller than twice the width of the conveying belt 54.

  Further, a horizontal distance e between the outer side end surface 54 b of the conveying belt 54 and the outer groove end portion 56 a of the groove 56, and the inner side end surface 54 c of the conveying belt 54 and the inner groove end portion 56 b of the groove 56, At least one of the horizontal distances f is smaller than the width of the conveyor belt 54.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the transport unit 28 is provided with a banknote width detection sensor 42 that detects the width of the banknote to be sent from the transport unit 28 to the banknote transport mechanism 50.

  Next, operation | movement of the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 which consists of a structure as shown to FIG. 2A thru | or FIG. 2D is demonstrated.

  First, the banknote width detection sensor 42 detects the size of the banknote sent from the transport unit 28 to the banknote transport mechanism 50. Only the banknote whose width is detected by the banknote width detection sensor 42 within a predetermined range is set between the pair of transport belts 54 and the base 52 in the banknote transport mechanism 50. Sent. Here, the predetermined range in the width | variety of a banknote is the magnitude | size of the distance between the groove edge parts 56a of the outer side of a pair of groove | channel 56, ie, the distance of L (= 2xa + b) in FIG. It means a distance larger than that. Moreover, the upper limit of the magnitude | size of the width | variety of a banknote may be provided about the predetermined range preset in the magnitude | size of the banknote width. Moreover, about the banknote which passes the identification part 22 before being sent to the banknote conveyance mechanism 50, the magnitude | size of the width | variety is detected by the identification part 22, and the banknote sent to the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 is a magnitude | size within a predetermined range. May be detected.

  As shown in FIGS. 2B and 2D, the banknote P sent to the banknote transport mechanism 50 is transported between the pair of transport belts 54 and the base 52 in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 2B. At this time, each conveyance belt 54 conveys the banknotes P by frictional force with its conveyance surface 54a contacting one surface of the banknotes P (the upper surface in FIG. 2B).

Further, as shown in FIG. 2B, each conveyor belt 54 presses the bill P from above, and the height c of the outer groove end portion 56a in each groove 56 provided to correspond to each conveyor belt 54 is large. since lower than the height d of the inner groove end 56b, it is possible to both end portions P ₁ in the width direction of the banknote P from floating upward (i.e., away greatly from the base portion 52) can be prevented.

  As described above, according to the banknote transport mechanism 50 of the present embodiment, the base portion 52 is provided with the grooves 56 so as to extend along the transport direction of the banknotes P so as to correspond to the transport belts 54, respectively. The width a of each groove 56 is smaller than the distance b between the pair of adjacent grooves 56. As described above, in the banknote transport mechanism 50 in which the transport belt 54 is disposed only on one side of the banknote P to be transported, a plurality of (specifically, two) grooves 56 are formed so as to correspond to the respective transport belts 54. From the banknotes P, the banknotes P are transported in parallel along the width direction of the banknotes, and the banknotes P are conveyed so that a part of the banknotes P enters the grooves 56, and the width a of the grooves 56 is restricted so as not to become too large. The forces applied to the conveying surface 54a of each conveying belt 54 and the groove end portions 56a and 56b of each groove 56 are substantially the same, and the conveying force of the bills P is reliably ensured by the conveying surface 54a of each conveying belt 56 due to the difference in these friction coefficients. In addition, since a plurality of transport belts 54 are provided, troubles such as skew are hardly caused when the banknote P is transported, and therefore the banknote P can be transported with high reliability.

  Further, according to the banknote transport mechanism 50 of the present embodiment, the distance e in the horizontal direction between the outer side end face 54 b of the transport belt 54 and the groove end 56 a on the outer side of the groove 56, and the inner side of the transport belt 54. At least one of the distances f in the horizontal direction between the side end face 54 c and the groove end 56 b inside the groove 56 is smaller than the width of the conveyor belt 54. Even in such a configuration, similarly to the above-described configuration, the width a of each groove 56 can be limited so as not to become too large.

Moreover, in the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 of this Embodiment, the height c of the outer groove end part 56a in each groove | channel 56 provided in the base 52 is lower than the height d of the inner groove end part 56b. Thus, the banknote P during conveyance of the banknote P is by being pressed from above by the conveyor belt 54, it is possible to both end portions P ₁ in the width direction of the banknote P is prevented from floating upward. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the both end portions P ₁ of the banknote P collides guide (not shown) or the like in the bill transport mechanism 50.

  Moreover, in the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 of this Embodiment, in each groove | channel 56 provided in the base 52, at least one groove edge part (example shown to FIG. 2A etc.) among a pair of groove edge part 56a, 56b of the said groove | channel 56. Then, the height d of the groove end portion 56 b is higher than the height of the conveyance surface 54 a of the conveyance belt 54 corresponding to the groove 56. For this reason, the conveying surface 54a of the conveying belt 54 is positioned below (at the side closer to the bottom of the groove 56) the at least one groove end part 56b of the pair of groove end parts 56a and 56b of the groove 56. A part of the banknote P that comes into contact with the transport surface 54 a can be reliably put into the groove 56.

  Further, the size of the width a of each groove 56 provided in the base 52 is larger than the width of the opposite conveying belt 54 and smaller than twice the width of the conveying belt 54. For this reason, at least a part of the conveyance belt 54 can be surely inserted into the groove 56, and the width a of the groove 56 becomes too large with respect to the width of the conveyance belt 54. For this reason, the banknote P can be efficiently pressed from above by the conveyor belt 54.

  Moreover, in the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 of this Embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the banknote width detection sensor 42 which detects the magnitude | size of the width | variety of the banknote P which should be sent between each conveyance belt 54 and the base 52. Only the banknotes P whose width is detected by the banknote width detection sensor 42 to be within a predetermined range are set between the conveyor belts 54 and the base 52. It is supposed to be sent. Specifically, a bill having a width larger than the distance between the groove end portions 56a outside the pair of grooves 56 in the bill transport mechanism 50, that is, the distance L (= 2 × a + b) in FIG. Only P is sent between each conveyor belt 54 and base 52. At this time, banknotes P having a width exceeding a preset upper limit value are not selectively sent between the respective conveyor belts 54 and the base 52. For this reason, the banknote P sent between each conveyance belt 54 and the base 52 can be reliably conveyed between each conveyance belt 54 and the base 52. Alternatively, the width of the banknote may be detected by the identification unit 22 instead of the banknote width detection sensor 42 to detect that the banknote sent to the banknote transport mechanism 50 has a size within a predetermined range.

  In addition, the banknote processing apparatus 10 and the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 by this Embodiment are not limited to said aspect, A various change can be added.

  For example, as shown in FIG. 3, a recess 58 may be formed at a location between the pair of grooves 56 in the base 52. That is, the groove 56 may be a groove dug down from the reference surface, or may be a groove formed by providing a protrusion on the reference surface. Even in this case, the banknote P sent to the banknote transport mechanism 50 is transported between the pair of transport belts 54 and the base 52 in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. At this time, each transport belt 54 transports the banknotes P by frictional force with its transport surface 54a contacting one surface of the banknotes P (the upper surface in FIG. 3).

  Moreover, you may use the banknote conveyance mechanism in which three conveyance belts as shown in FIG. 4 were provided in parallel instead of the banknote conveyance mechanism as shown to FIG. 2A thru | or FIG. 2D.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the banknote transport mechanism 60 according to the modification is provided with three transport belts 64 and 65 in parallel. The base 62 is provided with three grooves 66 and 67 so as to face the respective conveyor belts 64 and 65. Each of the grooves 66 and 67 is provided so as to extend in the conveyance direction of the banknote P (direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 4). Each of the conveyor belts 64 and 65 has the conveyance surfaces 64a and 65a in contact with one surface (the upper surface in FIG. 4) of the bill P, and the frictional force causes the bill P to move in a direction perpendicular to the plane of FIG. It is designed to carry. Further, the bill P to be transported is sandwiched between the transport belts 64 and 65 and the base 62. At this time, the banknote P is pressed from above by the transport belts 64 and 65, and the banknote P is transported on the base 62 in a state where a part of the banknote P enters the grooves 66 and 67. And the magnitude | size of the width a of each groove | channel 66,67 is smaller than the space | interval b between a pair of adjacent grooves 66,67.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 4, in each of the outer grooves 66 of the three grooves 66 and 67, the height c of the outer groove end portion 66a is lower than the height d of the inner groove end portion 66b. It has become. Further, in each groove 66, at least one of the pair of groove end portions 66a and 66b, specifically, the height d of the inner groove end portion 66b in the example shown in FIG. The height of the conveying surface 64a of the belt 64 is higher. Further, the height e of the groove end portion 67 a of the central groove 67 is higher than the height of the conveyance surface 65 a of the conveyance belt 65 corresponding to the groove 67. Further, the width a of each groove 66 is larger than the width of the opposite conveying belt 64 and smaller than twice the width of the conveying belt 64.

In addition, the magnitude | size of the space | interval b between a pair of adjacent groove | channels 66 and 67 in the banknote conveyance mechanism 60 as shown in FIG. 4 is the banknote conveyance mechanism in which the two conveyance belts 54 as shown in FIG. 2A etc. were provided. 50, the distance b between the pair of grooves 56 is substantially the same. For this reason, compared with the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 provided with the two conveyance belts 54 as shown in FIG. 2A etc., the banknote conveyance mechanism provided with the three conveyance belts 64 and 65 as shown in FIG. in 60, at a position closer to both end portions P ₁ in the width direction of the bill P, the conveyor belts 64 of the outer is to abut.

  Next, operation | movement of the banknote conveyance mechanism 60 which consists of a structure as shown in FIG. 4 is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the banknote P sent to the banknote transport mechanism 60 is transported between the transport belts 64 and 65 and the base 62 in a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 4. At this time, the transport surfaces 64a and 65a of the transport belts 64 and 65 contact the one surface of the banknote P (the upper surface in FIG. 4), and transport the banknote P by frictional force.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 4, the transport belts 64 and 65 press the banknotes P from above, and in the outermost grooves 66 among the grooves 66 and 67 provided to correspond to the transport belts 64 and 65. since the size of the height c of the outer groove end 66a is lower than the height d of the inner groove end 66b, both end portions P ₁ in the width direction of the banknote P from floating upward (i.e., the base portion 62 Can be prevented.

  As described above, according to the banknote transport mechanism 60 as shown in FIG. 4, the grooves 66 and 67 extend along the transport direction of the banknotes P in the base 62 so as to correspond to the transport belts 64 and 65, respectively. The width a of each groove 66, 67 is smaller than the distance b between a pair of adjacent grooves 66, 67. As described above, in the banknote transport mechanism 60 in which the transport belts 64 and 65 are arranged only on one side of the banknote P to be transported, the plurality of grooves 66 and 67 are formed so as to correspond to the transport belts 64 and 65. By providing in parallel along the direction, conveying the banknote P so that a part of the banknote P enters each groove 66, 67, and further limiting the width a of each groove 66, 67 so as not to become too large. Similarly to the banknote transport mechanism 50 shown in 2A to 2D, the banknote P can be transported with high reliability.

In addition, according to the banknote transport mechanism 60 as shown in FIG. 4, since the three transport belts 64 and 65 are provided, each outer transport is located at a position closer to both ends P <b> ₁ in the width direction of the banknote P. The belt 64 comes into contact. Therefore, it is possible to both end portions P ₁ is further prevented from floating upward.

Moreover, in the banknote conveyance mechanism 60 of this Embodiment, the height c of the outer groove end part 66a in the outermost groove 66 among the grooves 66 and 67 provided in the base 62 is the height of the inner groove end part 66b. It is lower than d. Thus, the banknote P during conveyance of the banknote P is by being pressed from above by the conveyor belt 64, it is possible to both end portions P ₁ in the width direction of the banknote P is prevented from floating upward. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the both end portions P ₁ of the banknote P collides with the guide (not shown) or the like in the bill transport mechanism 60.

  Moreover, in the banknote conveyance mechanism 60 of this Embodiment, in each groove | channel 66,67 provided in the base 62, height d, e of at least one groove | channel edge part among the pair of groove | channel edge parts of the said groove | channel 66,67. Is higher than the height of the conveying surfaces 64a, 65a of the conveying belts 64, 65 corresponding to the grooves 66, 67. For this reason, the conveyance surfaces 64a and 65a of the conveyance belts 64 and 65 are located below (at a side closer to the bottom of the grooves 66 and 67) at least one of the groove ends of the grooves 66 and 67. Therefore, a part of the banknote P that comes into contact with the transport surfaces 64a and 65a can be reliably put into the grooves 66 and 67.

  Further, the size of the width a of each of the grooves 66 and 67 provided in the base 62 is larger than the width of the opposite conveying belts 64 and 65 and smaller than twice the width of the conveying belts 64 and 65. It has become. For this reason, at least a part of the conveyor belts 64 and 65 can be surely inserted into the grooves 66 and 67, and the width a of the grooves 66 and 67 is larger than the width of the conveyor belts 64 and 65. Can be prevented from becoming too large, and for this reason, the banknotes P can be efficiently pressed from above by the conveyor belts 64 and 65.

  In the example shown in FIG. 4, the bill transport mechanism in which three transport belts are provided in parallel has been described. However, as another bill transport mechanism, a bill transport mechanism in which four or more transport belts are provided in parallel. May be used.

  Further, although the description has been given of the conveyance belt having a square cross-sectional shape, the cross-sectional shape of the conveyance belt may be other shapes such as a circle and a triangle.

  Moreover, as above-mentioned, in embodiment as shown in FIG. 1 thru | or FIG. 4, the banknote processing apparatus 10 which processes a banknote is used as a paper sheet processing apparatus, and a banknote is conveyed as a paper sheet conveyance mechanism. Although the example using the banknote conveyance mechanism 50 was demonstrated, the paper sheet conveyance mechanism and paper sheet processing apparatus in this invention are not limited to a banknote conveyance mechanism and a banknote processing apparatus, respectively, Other than a banknote It may be configured to carry and process types of paper sheets (for example, checks).

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Banknote processing apparatus 10a Upper part unit 10b Center part unit 10c Lower unit 12 Case 14 Bill insertion part 16 Bill throwing part 18 Rejection part 20 Temporary reservation part 22 Identification part 24 Storage part 24 scrutinization mechanism 26 Mixing storage part 26p Mechanism 28 Transport unit 30, 32, 34 Storage cassette 30a, 32a, 34a Storage unit 30p, 32p, 34p Delivery mechanism 38 Cassette storage unit 40 Storage cassette 40a, 40b, 40c Storage unit 40p, 40q, 40r Delivery mechanism 50 Banknote transport mechanism 52 Base 54 Conveying belt 54a Conveying surface 54b Outer side end surface 54c Inner side end surface 56 Groove 56a Outer groove end 56b Inner groove end 58 Depression 60 Bill conveying mechanism 62 Base 64, 65 Conveying belts 64a, 65a Conveying surface 66, 67 Groove 66a Outer groove end 66b Inner groove end 67a groove end 90 the sheet conveyance mechanism 92 protrusions 94, 95 and 96 the conveyor belt 94a, 95a, 96a projecting

Claims (7)

At least two conveying belts provided in parallel, each conveying belt contacting a part of one surface of the paper sheet and conveying the paper sheet by frictional force; and
A base that is provided so as to face each of the transport belts and that is configured such that paper sheets to be transported are sandwiched between the transport belts;
The base is provided with at least two grooves corresponding to the respective conveying belts so as to extend along the conveying direction of the sheets, and the width of each groove is between a pair of adjacent grooves. A paper sheet transport mechanism characterized by being smaller than the interval. At least two conveying belts provided in parallel, each conveying belt contacting a part of one surface of the paper sheet and conveying the paper sheet by frictional force; and
A base that is provided so as to face each of the transport belts and that is configured such that paper sheets to be transported are sandwiched between the transport belts;
The base is provided with at least two grooves corresponding to the transport belts so as to extend along the transport direction of the paper sheets, and a side end surface of the transport belt and a groove end of the grooves. The paper sheet transport mechanism according to claim 1, wherein a distance in the horizontal direction is smaller than a width of each of the transport belts.   The height of the outer groove end portion of the outermost groove among the at least two grooves provided in the base portion is lower than the height of the inner groove end portion. Paper sheet transport mechanism.   In each groove provided in the base portion, the height of at least one of the pair of groove end portions of the groove is higher than the height of the conveying surface of the conveying belt corresponding to the groove. The paper sheet transport mechanism according to any one of claims 1 to 3.   5. The width of each groove provided in the base is larger than the width of the opposed conveyor belt and smaller than twice the width of the conveyor belt. The paper sheet transport mechanism according to any one of the above.   Detection means for detecting the width of the paper sheet to be sent between each of the conveyor belts and the base is provided, and the detection means sets a predetermined width whose width is set in advance. 6. The sheet according to claim 1, wherein only the paper sheets detected to be within the range are sent between each of the conveyor belts and the base portion. Paper sheet transport mechanism.   A paper sheet processing apparatus comprising the paper sheet transport mechanism according to claim 1.

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