JP2012096174A - Mail processing device and mail processing method - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a mail processing device which can uninterruptedly transport and process mail having various sizes, thicknesses and weights one by one, and a mail processing method.SOLUTION: A mail processing method of a mail processing device having a one-mail-piece sending portion 11 which sends mail P one by one, buffers 10 and 9 which are continuously arranged, amount detecting sensors 15c and 15b which detect the full states of the one-mail-piece sending portion 11 and the buffer 10, a transport belt 13b which transports the mail in the buffer 10 to the one-mail-piece sending portion 11, and a transport belt 13a which transports the mail in the buffer 9 to the buffer 10 includes: prompting the transport belt 13b to transport the mail to the one-mail-piece sending portion 11 when the amount detecting sensor 15c does not detect the full state of the one-mail-piece sending portion 11; and prompting the transport belt 13a to transport the mail to the buffer 10 when the amount detecting sensor 15b does not detect the full state of the buffer 10.

Description

  The present invention relates to a mail processing apparatus and a mail processing method, and more particularly to a mail processing apparatus and a mail processing method for conveying mail one by one.

  When a mail processing company such as a post office inputs the collected mail, it sorts out and removes mail out of the fixed form that is not suitable for automatic processing. A mail processing apparatus is used in which mail is taken out one by one and transported to a processing apparatus such as a reader or sorting machine in a subsequent process with a stable supply amount.

  As such a mail processing apparatus, for example, Patent Document 1 discloses a mail processing apparatus that supplies mail to a downstream transport path from a sorting section, and a buffer section is provided between the sorting section and the downstream transport path. Further, it is disclosed that when an excessive supply amount of postal matter is detected by an amount detection lever and sensor provided on a conveyance path downstream of the buffer unit, the conveyance belt of the buffer unit is stopped.

JP 2000-271543 A

  In recent years, a mail processing company has demanded a processing apparatus that expands the processing target beyond that of a standard mail at a processing speed equal to or higher than that for mail processing efficiency. Enlarging the object to be processed by the mail processing apparatus means that the size, thickness, and weight of the mail are varied. In the processing apparatus using the mechanism described in Patent Document 1 described above, for example, when the supply of thick postal matter is continued, there is a risk that the postal matter will be interrupted to the one-feed unit.

  SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems, and a mail processing apparatus and mail processing method capable of transporting and processing mails of various sizes, thicknesses and weights one by one without interruption. Is to provide.

  The mail processing apparatus according to the present invention detects a fullness of a single-feed unit that sends mail one by one, first to n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) buffers arranged in succession, and a single-feed unit. A first sensor that detects the fullness of the first to (n-1) th buffers, and a first transport unit that transports the mail in the first buffer to the one-feed unit. A second to n-th transport unit that transports mail items in the second to n-th buffer to the first to n-1th buffer, and a transport control unit that controls the first to n-th transport unit And the conveyance control unit causes the first conveyance unit to convey the mail to the one-feeding unit when the fullness of the one-feeding unit is not detected by the first sensor, and the i-th sensor ( i is an integer not less than 2 and not more than n), the fullness of the i-1th buffer is not detected. Transporting the mail pieces to the i-1 of the buffer.

  In addition, the mail processing method of the present invention includes a one-feed unit for sending mail one by one, a first to n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) buffer arranged continuously, and a full one-feed unit. A first sensor for detecting, a second to n-th sensor for detecting the fullness of the first to (n-1) th buffers, and a first transport for transporting the mail in the first buffer to the one-feed section. A postal matter processing method for a postal matter processing apparatus, comprising: a second part and a second to nth transport part for transporting postal matter in the second to nth buffers to the first to n-1th buffers. When the first sensor does not detect the fullness of the one-feed section, the first transport section transports the mail to the one-feed section, and the i-th sensor (i is an integer not less than 2 and not more than n) ), If the i-th buffer is not full, the mail is transferred to the i-th transport unit. It is transported to the first buffer.

  According to the mail processing apparatus and mail processing method of the present invention, mails of various sizes, thicknesses, and weights can be conveyed and processed one by one without interruption.

It is a perspective view which shows schematic structure of the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which shows an example of a structure of the buffer part of FIG. It is a top view which shows an example of a structure from the buffer part 9 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of FIG. It is a top view which shows the modification of FIG. It is a figure which shows the concept of the conveyance control in the injection | throwing-in part 1 of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the structure of FIG.

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

  FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing an overall schematic configuration of a first embodiment of a mail processing apparatus according to the present invention.

  The mail processing apparatus includes a loading unit 1 for loading mails, buffer units 2 to 10 for storing mails, and a single feeding unit 11 having a function of sending mails one by one. Buffers 2 to 10 are continuously arranged.

  The postal matter P sent from the input unit 1 is supplied to the buffer unit 2 in a state of being aligned in the longitudinal direction of the postal matter with respect to the transport direction. From the buffer unit 2 to the buffer unit 10, it passes through the continuous buffer unit and is conveyed to the single-feed unit 11. The postal matter P is stored in the buffer unit 9 and the buffer unit 8 in order from the buffer unit 10 on the most downstream side.

  FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of the configuration of the buffer unit 10 of the mail processing apparatus according to the present invention. The other buffer units 2 to 9 have the same configuration.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the postal matter P is conveyed from the upstream side with a wide surface parallel to the side conveyor belt 12b and one side of the postal matter supported by the bottom conveyor belt 13b. When the postal matter P is stored in the buffer unit 10, the postal matter P transported from the upstream collides with the postal matter P in the buffer unit 10. At this time, the bottom surface transport belt 13b causes the postal matter P to pass through the postal matter P. If it is strongly pushed into the buffer unit 10, the postal matter P may be broken or broken. Therefore, the bottom conveying belt 13b is a belt having a lower coefficient of friction than the side conveying belt. When the postal matter P being conveyed collides with the postal matter P stored therein, the postal matter P slides against the bottom-side transport belt 13b, and the friction coefficient is such that the bottom-side transport belt 13b does not push the postal matter P strongly. Yes. As a result, the damage and breakage of the postal matter P can be reduced.

  The amount detection lever 14b is, for example, a lever that is supported so as to be rotatable about a rotation axis that is parallel to the conveyance belt 12b on the side surface and perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and the end of the lever is moved to the uppermost mail by the spring 16b. It is pressed. The amount detection lever 14b rotates according to the total thickness of the mails pushed between the side conveyor belt 12b and the end of the lever by the side conveyor belt 12b and the bottom conveyor belt 13b. The amount detection lever 14c of the single feed portion 11 may have the same configuration.

  The amount detection sensor 15b outputs whether or not the buffer 10 is full depending on the rotation angle of the amount detection lever 14b. For example, the amount detection sensor 15b may include a light receiving element and an output circuit that can block light from a light source (not shown) according to the rotation angle by the detection lever 14b. The output of the amount detection sensor 15b is set to be different from the rotation angle θ1 of the detection lever 14b that shifts from full detection to non-detection and the rotation angle θ2 of the detection lever 14b that shifts from full detection to non-detection. The larger is desirable.

  The rotation angle θ2 of the detection lever 14c is not set to an angle at which there is no room for mail to enter the one-feed portion 11, and the rotation angle at which the one-feed portion 11 is almost full but has room for the mail to enter. You may set suitably. The amount detection sensor 15c of the single feed portion 11 may have the same configuration.

  FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of the configuration of the part from the buffer unit 9 to the one-feed unit 11 in FIG. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of FIG.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the postal matter P conveyed from the buffer unit 10 is stored in the one-feed unit 11. The amount detection lever 14 c rotates in accordance with the amount of the postal matter P stored in the one-feed portion 11. The amount detection sensor 15c outputs whether or not the one-feed portion 11 is full depending on the rotation angle of the amount detection lever 14c.

  The buffer unit 10 includes a side conveyance belt 12b, a bottom conveyance belt 13b, an amount detection lever 14b, and an amount detection sensor 15b. Further, the side conveyor belt 12b and the bottom conveyor belt 13b include a motor 17b and a motor 18b, respectively, and are driven by the conveyance controller 19.

  When the conveyance control unit 19 detects that the one-feed unit 11 is full by the amount detection sensor 15c, the motor 17b and the motor 18b drive the side belt 12b and the bottom belt 13b of the buffer unit 10 upstream of the one-feed unit 11. To stop. As a result, the postal matter P is stored in the buffer unit 10.

  When the postal matter P in the downstream one-feed portion 11 decreases and the one-feed portion 11 detects that the one-feed portion 11 is no longer full, the transport control unit 19 detects that the side transport belt of the buffer unit 10 12b, the motor 17b and the motor 18b for driving the bottom conveying belt 13c are activated, and the postal matter P is supplied from the buffer unit 10 to the one-way feeding unit 11 downstream.

  Further, when the amount detection sensor 15b detects that the buffer unit 10 is full, the transport control unit stops the motor 17a and the motor 18a that drive the side belt 12a and the bottom belt 13a of the buffer unit 9 upstream of the buffer unit 10. To do. As a result, the postal matter P is stored in the buffer unit 9. The amount detection lever 14 a rotates in accordance with the amount of the postal matter P stored in the buffer unit 9. The amount detection sensor 15a outputs whether or not the buffer unit 9 is full depending on the rotation angle of the amount detection lever 14a.

  When the quantity detection sensor 15b detects that the postal matter P in the downstream buffer unit 10 has decreased and the buffer unit 10 is no longer full, the transport control unit 19 moves the side transport belt 12a and the bottom transport belt 13a of the buffer unit 9 together. The motors 17a and 18a to be driven are activated, and the postal matter P is supplied from the buffer unit 9 to the downstream buffer unit 10.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 1, a plurality of buffer units that operate in the same manner as the buffer unit 9 may be provided upstream of the buffer unit 9. The conveyance control unit 19 estimates the postal matter amount in the downstream buffer unit from the state of the amount detection lever in the downstream buffer unit. When the quantity detection sensor detects that the postal matter P in the downstream buffer unit has decreased and the downstream buffer unit is no longer full, the conveyance control unit 19 drives the side conveyance belt and the bottom conveyance belt of the upstream buffer unit. The motor is started and the postal matter P is supplied from the upstream buffer unit to the downstream buffer unit.

  Next, modifications of the buffer unit 9 and the buffer unit 10 will be described. This configuration may be applied to other buffer units. FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a modification of FIG.

  This modification is different from the example of FIG. 3 in that leveling mechanisms 22a and 22b are added.

  The leveling mechanisms 22a and 22b are arranged in the buffer portion 10 immediately before the downstream one-feed portion 11, and further upstream if necessary, so that the flow of mails to the one-feed portion 11 can be performed more smoothly. Is provided. The clearance between the leveling mechanism 22b and the side belt 12b is arranged narrower than the clearance between the upstream leveling mechanism 22a and the side belt 12a. By doing so, it is possible to obtain an effect such that mails stored in the buffer portion flow more smoothly to the one-feed portion 11.

  Next, a modified example of the transport control unit will be described.

  This modification is different from the above-described example of the conveyance control unit in that a timer for measuring a time during which the amount detection sensor 15b continues to detect the full state is provided.

  When the transport control unit detects that the buffer unit 10 is full by the amount detection sensor 15b, the speeds of the motor 17a and the motor 18a for driving the side transport belt 12a and the bottom transport belt 13a of the upstream buffer unit 9 are detected. Decelerate from the driving state without stopping. As a result, the supply amount of the postal matter P to the buffer unit 10 is reduced.

  As described above, the transport control unit includes a timer that measures the time during which the amount detection sensor 15b of the buffer unit 10 continues to detect the full state. When the state in which the amount detection lever 15b of the buffer unit 10 continues to be detected as being full continues for a predetermined time or longer, the conveyance control unit drives the motor 17a that drives the side conveyance belt 12a and the bottom conveyance belt 13a of the buffer unit 9. , 18a is stopped.

  When the postal matter P in the downstream buffer unit 10 is reduced and the buffer unit 10 detects that the buffer unit 10 is not full, the conveyance control unit detects the side conveyance belt 12a and the bottom conveyance of the buffer unit 9. The motor 17a and the motor 18a for driving the belt 13a are activated, and the postal matter P is supplied from the buffer unit 9 to the downstream buffer unit 10.

The speed control of the motor 17a and the motor 18a for driving the side conveyor belt 12a and the bottom conveyor belt 13a is decelerated to another stage according to the time when the full state is detected, and then the motor 17a and the motor 18a are stopped. It doesn't matter if you do.
Further, the timer measures not only the buffer unit 10 but also the time when the amount detection sensor of the other buffer unit continues to detect the full state, and when the state that the full detection continues continues for a predetermined time or more, You may make it stop the motor which drives the side surface conveyance belt and bottom surface conveyance belt of the upstream buffer part. Further, the vehicle may be stopped after decelerating to another stage according to the time during which the full state is detected.

Next, conveyance control in the loading unit 1 will be described. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing the concept of transport control in the input unit 1 of the mail processing apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the mail processing apparatus according to the present invention. The input unit conveyance control unit 21 that controls the input unit conveyance unit 20 from the input unit 1 to the most upstream buffer unit 2 includes the above-described buffer. The mail in the downstream buffer unit 2 is output from the output of the amount detection sensor 15n that outputs whether or not the buffer unit 2 is full according to the rotation angle of the amount detection lever 14n of the downstream buffer unit 2 as in the transport control unit of the unit 10. The quantity P is estimated, and the transport amount of the mail P to the buffer unit 2 is controlled.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the loading unit conveyance control unit 21 estimates and considers the total amount of mail in the buffer units 2 to 10 from the output of the amount detection sensor of the buffer units 2 to 10, and then loads the loading unit 1. May be fed back to the control of the transport amount of the postal matter P to the most upstream buffer unit 2.

  For example, the loading unit transport control unit 21 estimates the amount of postal matter P in the entire buffer unit based on the number of full detections of the amount detection sensor 15 in each buffer unit, and inputs according to the estimated amount of postal matter P in the entire buffer unit. The speed of the part transport unit 21 is controlled. That is, if the amount of postal matter P in the entire buffer unit is small, the transport amount of postal matter P from the input unit 1 is larger than the standard value, and if the amount of postal matter P in the entire buffer unit is large, the postal matter from the input unit 1 The feeding unit transport unit 20 is controlled so that the transport amount of P becomes smaller.

  In addition, if the mail pieces stored in the buffer section are thick, the number of mail pieces P stored in the buffer section is also reduced. Therefore, when the number of mails P sent out from the one mailing part 11 per time is constant, the number of mails in the buffer is larger when there are many thick mails than when there are many thin mails. The amount detection sensor of each buffer section frequently repeats full detection and non-detection in a short cycle. Therefore, the loading unit conveyance control unit 21 may control the loading unit conveyance unit 20 in consideration of the frequency of operation of the amount detection sensor of each buffer unit.

  For example, if it is determined that the amount detection sensor of each buffer unit is operating at a short cycle, it is assumed that there are many thick items in the buffer unit, and the amount of postal matter P from the input unit 1 is detected as the same fullness. Even the number is controlled to supply more.

  In the first embodiment of the present invention described above, by providing a plurality of buffer units, it is possible to constantly supply the mail items to the one-feed unit 11 without any interruption even if the mail pieces to be processed are enlarged. . Further, by providing a plurality of buffer units and each having an amount detection lever, it is possible to estimate the amount of mail in the entire buffer unit and perform feedback control to the upstream process. Furthermore, by having a plurality of buffer units and each having a quantity detection lever, the thickness of the mail in the buffer part is estimated from the frequency information of ON / OFF of the quantity detection lever, and feedback control to the upstream process is performed. be able to.

  As a result, it has become possible to constantly send the mail to the single-feed section so that the mail is not interrupted even in a mail processing device whose size and thickness are constantly changing. For example, as shown in FIG. 1, in a configuration in which nine buffers 2 to 10 are continuously arranged, a mail piece of C4 size (229 mm × 324 mm), thickness 8 mm, and weight about 300 g is sent at a rate of about 50,000 mails per hour. 11 can be supplied.

  In addition, this invention is not limited only to the structure of the above-mentioned embodiment, A various change is possible. For example, the number of buffer units may be increased or decreased according to the mail piece to be processed and the processing speed.

  The present invention can be used for a mail processing apparatus used for preparing mails.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Input part 2-10 Buffer part 11 Single feed part 12a, 12b Side conveyance belt 13a, 13b Bottom conveyance belt 14a, 14b, 14c, 14n Quantity detection lever 15a, 15b, 15c, 15n Quantity detection sensor 16b Spring 17a, 17b, 18a, 18b Motor 19 Transport control unit 20 Input unit transport unit 21 Input unit transport control unit 22a, 22b Leveling mechanism

Claims (7)

A single-feed section that sends mail one by one;
First to nth (n is an integer of 2 or more) buffers arranged in succession;
A first sensor for detecting the fullness of the one-feed section;
Second to nth sensors detecting fullness of the first to n-1 buffers;
A first transport unit for transporting the mail in the first buffer to the one-feed unit;
Second to nth transport units for transporting mail items in the second to nth buffers to the first to n-1th buffers;
A transport control unit for controlling the first to nth transport units;
Have
The transport control unit causes the first transport unit to transport mail to the one-feed unit when the fullness of the one-feed unit is not detected by the first sensor,
When the i-th sensor (i is an integer not smaller than 2 and not larger than n) does not detect that the i-th buffer is full, the mail is transferred to the i-th transport unit. A mail processing apparatus for transporting a mail. The mail processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport control unit decelerates the i-th transport unit when the i-th sensor detects that the i-th buffer is full. The transport control unit includes a timer that measures a time during which the i-th sensor continuously detects that the i-th buffer is full, and when the time reaches a predetermined time, The mail processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the transport unit is stopped. The i-th transport unit includes a side transport belt and a bottom transport belt, and the friction coefficient of the bottom transport belt is smaller than that of the side transport belt. Mail processing equipment. An estimation unit that estimates the amount of mail items in the first to nth buffers from the number of full detections among the first to nth sensors, and a mail item upstream from the nth buffer. 5. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: an upstream transport unit that transports the upstream transport unit, and an upstream transport control unit that controls the upstream transport unit in accordance with an amount of mail estimated by the estimation unit. Mail processing equipment. The upstream conveyance control unit controls the conveyance amount of the upstream conveyance unit in consideration of the frequency of detection contents changing between a full state and a non-full state among the first to nth sensors. The mail processing apparatus according to claim 5. A one-feed section for sending mail one by one, first to n-th (n is an integer of 2 or more) buffers arranged in succession, a first sensor for detecting a fullness of the one-feed section, Second to nth sensors for detecting the fullness of the first to n-1 buffers, a first transport unit for transporting mail in the first buffer to the one-feed unit, and A postal matter processing method of a postal matter processing apparatus, comprising: second to nth transport units for transporting postal matter in an nth buffer to first to (n-1) th buffers,
When the fullness of the one-feed unit is not detected by the first sensor, the first transport unit transports mail to the one-feed unit,
When the i-th sensor (i is an integer not smaller than 2 and not larger than n) does not detect that the i-th buffer is full, the mail is transferred to the i-th transport unit. A mail processing method characterized by transporting.

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