JP2019023128A - Separation device and separation method of sheets - Google Patents

Abstract

To separate a plurality of sheets from a sheet laminate while inhibiting the sheets from being damaged.SOLUTION: A separation device 21 of sheets includes: a table 5 on which a sheet laminate is mounted; holding parts 2, 3 for interposing a part of a side surface of the sheet laminate 22 from both sides; a mechanism 15 for moving up and down the table 5 or the holding parts 2, 3; and a correction mechanism 27, wherein a part of the side surface of the sheet laminate 22 mounted on the table 5 is interposed from both sides by the holding parts 2, 3, and then the table 5 is lowered or a part of the holding parts 2, 3 is lifted by the mechanism 15 to thereby separate the sheet interposed between the holding parts 2, 3.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus and method for separating a certain number of sheets from a sheet laminate.

  An apparatus for separating a certain number of sheets from a sheet laminate such as a sheet or plastic film is known. Patent Document 1 discloses a method of separating a sheet by pressing a rotating roller against a side surface of a sheet laminate.

JP 2009-238123 A

  When a sheet is separated by rotation of a roller as in Patent Document 1, undesired damage may occur to the sheet because the rotating roller surface is in sliding contact with the side surface of the sheet stack.

  An object of this invention is to provide the apparatus which isolate | separates a some sheet | seat reliably from a sheet | seat laminated body, suppressing the damage to a sheet | seat.

  The sheet separating apparatus according to the present invention includes a table on which a sheet laminate is placed, a holding unit that sandwiches a part of a side surface of the sheet laminate from both sides, a mechanism for raising and lowering the table or the holding unit, and the sheet laminate. A correction mechanism for aligning the sheet laminate by pushing the side of the sheet, and sandwiching a part of the side of the sheet laminate placed on the table from both sides by the holding unit, and then lowering the table by the mechanism or the holding unit The sheet sandwiched between the holding parts is separated by raising a part thereof.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, it becomes possible to isolate | separate a some sheet | seat from a sheet | seat laminated body reliably, suppressing the damage to a sheet | seat.

The conceptual diagram which shows the structure of the separation apparatus of the sheet | seat of this invention 1 is a perspective view of the apparatus shown in FIG. Conceptual diagram showing the flow of sheet separation method Conceptual diagram showing one step of sheet separation method Conceptual diagram showing one step of sheet separation method Conceptual diagram showing one step of sheet separation method Conceptual diagram showing the state of the isolated sheet Conceptual diagram showing the second embodiment Conceptual diagram showing the third embodiment Diagram explaining reduction of sheet folding during separation operation Conceptual diagram showing the fourth embodiment Conceptual diagram showing the flow of sheet separation method Diagram showing the state of the correction operation

(Configuration of sheet separation device)
FIG. 1A is a front view of the separation device, and FIG. 1B is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 2A is a perspective view of the sheet separating apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 2B is a perspective view of the first sheet holding member.

  The sheet separation device 21 has a table 5 on which a plurality of stacked sheets 1 are placed. In the present embodiment, the sheet 1 is a rectangle having a long side and a short side, but may have a square shape. The table 5 includes an electric linear actuator 15 and can move in the vertical direction DZ by the operation of the actuator 15. The sheet 1 placed on the table 5 forms a sheet laminate 22. The table 5 is provided with a torque limit detection mechanism so as to stop when the upper surface of the sheet laminate 22 abuts against a stopper 6 described later.

  The sheet separation device 21 has a hopper 4 that guides the four corners of the sheet laminate 22. The hopper 4 is composed of four L-shaped column members (posts) 4 a, 4 b, 4 c and 4 d located at the four corners of the sheet laminate 22. Between column members 4a, 4b, 4c and 4d, first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3 (to be described later) and first and second transport hands 7a and 7b (also referred to as transport claws) enter and retract. A space is possible. The hopper 4 extends from a position directly above the table 5 to above the first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3, and guides an arbitrary number of sheets 1 in the horizontal direction DX and DY within the height range of the hopper 4. .

  The first and second transport hands 7a and 7b are movable in the horizontal direction DY by a driving device (not shown). The first and second transport hands 7 a and 7 b are at positions rotated by 90 ° with respect to the first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3 with respect to the vertical center axis of the separation device 21. The first and second transport hands 7a and 7b enter the hopper 4 and receive the separated sheet 1. The first and second transport hands 7a and 7b retreat from the inside of the hopper 4 while holding the separated sheet 1 and transport to the next step.

  The sheet separation device 21 includes a first sheet holding member 2 and a second sheet holding member 3 that are positioned to face each other. In the present embodiment, first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3 are provided adjacent to the two long sides of the sheet 1. The first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3 may be provided adjacent to the two short sides of the sheet 1. The first sheet holding member 2 includes an air cylinder 12 and can move in a direction orthogonal to the first side surface 22a so as to be able to contact the first side surface 22a (see FIG. 5) of the sheet laminate 22. The second sheet holding member 3 includes an air cylinder 13 and moves in a direction orthogonal to the second side surface 22b so as to be able to contact the second side surface 22b (see FIG. 5) facing the first side surface 22a of the sheet laminate 22. can do. Thereby, the 1st and 2nd sheet | seat holding members 2 and 3 can pinch | interpose the sheet | seat laminated body 22 in cooperation.

  The first sheet holding member 2 has a first elastic member 9 made of rubber or the like. Similarly, the second sheet holding member 3 has a second elastic member 16 formed of rubber or the like. The first elastic member 9 has a first plane 9 a that extends substantially parallel to the first side surface 22 a of the sheet laminate 22. Similarly, the second elastic member 16 has a second flat surface 16 a that extends substantially parallel to the second side surface 22 b of the sheet laminate 22. The first plane 9 a is in surface contact with the first side surface 22 a of the sheet laminate 22, and the second plane 16 a is in surface contact with the second side surface 22 b of the sheet laminate 22. Accordingly, the force received by the first and second side surfaces 22a and 22b of the sheet laminate 22 from the first and second elastic members 9 and 16 is dispersed, and the sheet 1 is less likely to be deformed, bent, or broken.

  The lower end 9b of the first plane 9a faces the second plane 16a in the horizontal direction. In the present embodiment, the lower end 9b of the first plane 9a is above the lower end 16b of the second plane 16a, but may be at the same height as the lower end 16b of the second plane 16a. In any form, the sheet laminate 22 is not sandwiched between the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 immediately below the lower end 9b of the first plane 9a. Therefore, the lower end 9 b of the first plane 9 a forms the lower end of the portion where the sheet laminate 22 is sandwiched between the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3. For this reason, it becomes possible to isolate | separate the upper part 23 (refer Fig.6 (a)) of the sheet | seat laminated body 22 from the lower part by the lower end 9b of the 1st plane 9a.

  The first sheet holding member 2 includes an electric linear actuator (not shown) that controls the vertical position of the first elastic member 9. Thereby, the number of sheets separated from the sheet laminate 22 can be adjusted as will be described in a later embodiment.

  The first elastic member 9 is formed so as to protrude from the main body of the first sheet holding member 2 toward the sheet laminate 22. On the other hand, the second elastic member 16 is attached to the entire surface of the main body of the second sheet holding member 3 that faces the sheet laminate 22. Due to the difference in shape, the vertical dimension a1 of the first plane 9a is made smaller than the vertical dimension a2 of the second plane 16a. For this reason, the force applied to the sheet laminated body 22 from the first plane 9a is concentrated in a narrow range, and the part (upper part 23) where the sheets of the sheet laminated body 22 are separated can be reliably held. On the other hand, the second plane 16 a is provided to receive the reaction force of the force received from the first plane 9 a and maintain the position of the sheet laminate 22. Since the second plane 16a has a larger area than the first plane 9a, the force applied to the sheet laminate 22 from the second plane 16a is dispersed, and damage to the sheet 1 can be suppressed.

  A stopper 6 is provided above the table 5. The stopper 6 includes an air cylinder 14 and can move in the vertical direction DZ when the air cylinder 14 is driven.

  The vertical distance Z1 between the first sheet holding member 2 and the table 5 can be increased or decreased by an elevating mechanism. In the present embodiment, the lifting mechanism is an electric linear actuator 15 provided on the table 5. The electric linear actuator 15 moves the table 5 downward in the vertical direction after the first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3 sandwich the sheet laminate 22. Thus, spaces 17a and 17b (see FIGS. 6 to 8) into which the transport hands 7a and 7b can enter can be formed between the upper portion 23 separated from the sheet laminate 22 and the lower portion 24 thereof.

<Example 1>
Next, a method for separating a certain number of sheets from the sheet laminate 22 will be described with reference to an embodiment. FIG. 3 shows the main steps of the sheet separation method. As the sheet 1, single-sided glossy paper for printing a photograph or the like with an ink jet printer is used. The sheet 1 has a width of 89 mm, a length of 127 mm, and a thickness of 0.3 mm. First, the sheet 1 is placed on the table 5 in the hopper 4 (step S1). Sheet 1 is set with the glossy surface on top. This is because the surface of the sheet that is easily damaged is not brought into contact with the bottom surface of the table or a stored item in a subsequent process. The inner dimension of the hopper 4 is set to be 1 mm larger than the maximum dimension within the dimensional tolerance of the sheet 1 in both the long side direction and the short side direction of the sheet 1. This makes it difficult for the four sides of the seat 1 to hit the columns 4a to 4d of the hopper 4 when the table 5 is raised and lowered (raised and lowered).

  Next, the stopper 6 is lowered to the position indicated by the dotted line in FIG. 1 (step S2). At this point, there is a sufficient gap between the upper surface of the sheet laminate 22 and the lower surface of the stopper 6. Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the table 5 and the sheet laminate 22 placed on the table 5 are raised until the upper surface of the sheet laminate 22 contacts the lower surface of the stopper 6 (step S3). When the upper surface of the sheet laminate 22 comes into contact with the stopper 6 and the torque limit detection mechanism of the table 5 detects a preset limit torque, the table 5 stops. The limit torque is set to a value larger than the minimum torque required to raise the table 5 and the sheet laminate 22 and smaller than the torque generated in the drive mechanism of the table 5 when the stopper 6 contacts the sheet laminate 22. Is done. Thereby, the table 5 can be stopped when the upper surface of the sheet laminated body 22 contacts the stopper 6.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 5A, the second sheet holding member 3 is advanced, and the first elastic member 9 is brought into contact with a part of the second side surface 22b of the sheet laminate 22 (step S4). The second elastic member 16 of the second sheet holding member 3 is made of rubber having a thickness of 2 mm and a hardness of 80 °. The air cylinder 13 which is the advance mechanism of the second sheet holding member 3 includes two cylinders having a diameter of 12 mm. The second sheet holding member 3 is driven to a position where the second elastic member 16 protrudes 1 mm from the end face of the inner wall of the hopper 4 adjacent to the second sheet holding member 3 to the inside of the hopper 4. Thereby, even if the dimensional tolerance of the sheet 1 is taken into consideration, the second elastic member 16 can be reliably brought into contact with the sheet laminate 22.

  Next, the first sheet holding member 2 is advanced, and the first elastic member 9 is brought into contact with a part of the first side surface 22a of the sheet laminate 22 (step S5). Accordingly, the sheet laminate 22 is sandwiched between the first elastic member 9 of the first sheet holding member 2 and the second elastic member 16 of the second sheet holding member 3. The air cylinder 12 that is the advance mechanism of the first sheet holding member 2 includes two air cylinders having a diameter of 12 mm. The first elastic member 9 of the first sheet holding member 2 is made of silicon rubber having a width of 32 mm, a height of 4 mm, and a hardness of 30 °. Since the first elastic member 9 has a lower hardness than the second elastic member 16, the lower portion of the sheet laminate 22 is lowered in the subsequent process, and the first sheet holding member 2 holds the upper portion 23 of the sheet laminate 22. In addition, damage to the sheet 1 can be suppressed.

  FIG.5 (b) is sectional drawing along the AA line of Fig.5 (a). As shown in the figure, the first sheet holding member 2 advances further inward while pushing the sheet laminated body 22 after the first elastic member 9 contacts the first side surface 22 a of the sheet laminated body 22. In the drawing, the broken line 22a0 indicates the position of the first side surface 22a before the first elastic member 9 contacts the first side surface 22a, and the solid line 22a1 indicates the position of the first side surface 22a after the first elastic member 9 advances. ing. The first sheet holding member 2 moves to a position where the distance between the first elastic member 9 and the second elastic member 16 is smaller than the width direction dimension of the sheet 1. The width direction dimension of the sheet 1 is the short side direction dimension of the sheet 1 corresponding to the distance between the first side surface 22a and the second side surface 22b of the sheet laminate 22, or the long side of the sheet constituting the first side surface 22a. This is the distance between the long sides of the sheet constituting the second side surface 22b. The advance amount X1 of the first elastic member 9 after contacting the first side surface 22a of the sheet laminate 22 is set to 1 mm. In addition, it is assumed that the dimension in the width direction of the sheet 1 here is the minimum value within the dimension tolerance of the sheet dimension. Therefore, even if dimensional tolerance is taken into consideration, it is possible to hold the sheet 1 by reliably bringing the first elastic member 9 into contact with the first side surface 22a of the sheet laminate 22.

  The pressure at which the second sheet holding member 3 moves forward is set larger than the pressure at which the first sheet holding member 2 moves forward. In this embodiment, the pressure of the air cylinder 13 of the second sheet holding member 3 is set to 0.5 MPa, and the pressure of the air cylinder 12 of the first sheet holding member 2 is set to 0.2 MPa. These pressures are set with the intention that an excessive force is not applied to the sheet while the sheet is pressed by the first sheet holding member 2. The order of moving the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 may be reversed or simultaneous.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 6, the stopper 6 is raised (step S6), and the table 5 is lowered (step S7). By lowering the table 5, the vertical interval Z1 between the first sheet holding member 2 and the table 5 increases. As a result, the portion above the lower end 9b of the first elastic member 9 of the sheet laminate 22, that is, the upper portion 23 sandwiched between the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 of the sheet laminate 22, Separated from the sheet laminate 22. A space 17a is formed between the upper portion 23 and the lower portion 24 thereof. Either step S6 or step S7 may be performed first or simultaneously.

  Next, the pair of transport hands 7a and 7b are caused to enter the space 17a, and the upper portion 23 separated from the sheet laminate 22 is held (step S8). At the same time, the first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3 retract from the inside of the hopper 4 to release the holding of the upper portion 23 of the sheet laminate 22. The upper portion 23 of the sheet laminate 22 held by the transport hands 7a and 7b is transported to the next step (not shown).

  The first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 apply a pressing force to the sheet laminate 22 at positions facing each other in the horizontal direction. Further, the distance between the first elastic member 9 and the second elastic member 16 is smaller than the width direction dimension of the sheet 1. For this reason, the sheet 1 sandwiched between the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 in the upper portion 23 of the sheet 1 constituting the sheet laminate 22 is curved.

  The direction in which the sheet 1 is curved varies depending on the direction in which the sheets 1 are stacked (front and back), the type of sheet, and the like. In this example, when the glossy surface of the sheet 1 is laminated on the lower surface, the sheet 1 is curved so that the center portion protrudes upward or upward as shown in FIG. Conversely, when the sheets 1 are laminated with the glossy surface as the upper surface, the sheet 1 is curved so that the central portion protrudes downward or downward as shown in FIG. 7B. When the sheet 1 is curved as shown in FIG. 7A, when the table 5 is lowered to separate the upper portion 23 from the sheet laminate 22, the sheet 1 in the lower portion 24 is removed from the sheet laminate 22 together with the upper portion 23. The sheets 1 are separated, and the number of sheets 1 to be separated is not stable. On the other hand, when the sheet 1 is curved as shown in FIG. For this reason, it is desirable to set the orientation of the front and back according to the type of the sheet so that the sheet 1 is curved so that the central portion of the sheet 1 protrudes downward.

  The number of sheets 1 to be separated is determined by a distance Z2 between the lower end 9b of the first elastic member 9 and the lower surface of the stopper 6, as shown in FIG. The number of sheets 1 to be separated can be adjusted by fixing the lower end position of the stopper 6 and changing the vertical position of the first sheet holding member 2. The vertical position of the first sheet holding member 2 can be changed by the electric linear actuator described above. Even if the vertical position of the first sheet holding member 2 is fixed and the stop position of the stopper 6 is changed, the same effect can be obtained. Alternatively, both the vertical position of the first sheet holding member 2 and the stop position of the stopper 6 may be adjusted. In this embodiment, in order to separate 50 sheets 1 having a thickness of 0.3 mm, the distance Z2 is set to 15 mm. The same method can be used when separating the same number of sheets having different thicknesses, for example, 50 sheets.

  In this embodiment, a part of the side surface of the sheet laminate is sandwiched from both sides by the holding portions (first sheet holding member 2 and second sheet holding member 3), and then the table is lowered by the lifting mechanism. By such a simple operation, a plurality of sheets sandwiched between the holding portions can be reliably separated. At this time, since both sides of the sheet laminate are held by the two flat surfaces 9a and 16a, the holding becomes more reliable and damage to the sheet hardly occurs. Further, this embodiment has an advantage that static electricity is hardly generated on the sheet as compared with the separation apparatus using the roller disclosed in Patent Document 1. In the separation apparatus described in Patent Document 1, since the roller rotates so as to rub the side surface of the sheet laminate, static electricity tends to be generated in the sheets constituting the sheet laminate. For this reason, the separation of the sheet may be hindered by static electricity generated in the sheet. In the present embodiment, the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 remain stationary without being moved relative to the sheet laminate 22 after contacting the sheet laminate 22. For this reason, static electricity hardly occurs in the sheet 1, and the sheet is more reliably separated.

<Example 2>
In this embodiment, the process (from step S1 to step S5) until the sheet laminate 22 is sandwiched between the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 is the same as that in the first embodiment. After the first and second sheet holding members 2 and 3 sandwich the sheet laminated body 22, the stopper 6 is raised as shown in FIG. 8, and the lifting mechanism independently moves the first sheet holding member 2 upward as shown in FIG. Move to. The lifting mechanism of the present embodiment is an electric linear actuator 18 provided in the first sheet holding member 2. The electric linear actuator 18 is connected to the lower surface of the first sheet holding member 2 and can move the first sheet holding member 2 in the vertical direction DZ. When the first sheet holding member 2 is lifted up, the second sheet holding member 3 remains stationary. The upper portion 23 of the sheet laminate 22 is separated from the lower portion 24 on the first sheet holding member 2 side, and a triangular space 17 b is formed between the upper portion 23 and the lower portion 24. Next, similarly to step S8 of the first embodiment, the pair of transport hands 7a and 7b are moved into the space 17b, and the separated upper portion 23 of the sheet laminate 22 is held.

  As described above, in this embodiment, a part of the side surface of the sheet laminate is sandwiched from both sides by the holding parts (first sheet holding member 2 and second sheet holding member 3), and then a part of the holding part (first One sheet holding member 2) is raised. By such a simple operation, a plurality of sheets sandwiched between the holding portions can be reliably separated. In the present embodiment, the lower end of the upper portion 23 on the second sheet holding member 3 side is in contact with the upper surface of the lower portion 24. For this reason, even when the first sheet holding member 2 and the second sheet holding member 3 are removed when the first sheet holding member 2 is lifted and the upper portion 23 falls, the damage to the sheet can be effectively suppressed. it can. Moreover, the trouble at the time of isolation | separation by the static electricity described in Example 1 is also suppressed.

<Example 3>
In this embodiment, in addition to the steps of the first and second embodiments, when the sheet number measurement and the sheet number adjustment steps are continuously performed, the control for improving the accuracy of the number of sheets separating the upper portion 23 from the sheet laminate 22 is performed. Is the method. In the sheet separation method shown in the first and second embodiments, the sheet number specified each time is not accurately separated due to the difference in sheet thickness for each lot or the deformation of the sheet. Need to be fine-tuned. Along with a decrease in sheet separation accuracy, problems such as an increase in the load of the sheet number adjustment process, which is a subsequent process, occur. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 9, after the number of sheets is measured, the dimension Z2 shown in FIG. 5 is changed before the next sheet separation operation according to the number of sheets, so that the number of sheets always close to the prescribed number of sheets is obtained. The number of sheets is fed back so that it can be separated. As described above, the value of Z2 can be easily changed by operating an electric actuator that controls the vertical position of the first sheet holding member 2.

  For example, let us consider a case where it is desired to separate 50 sheets of 0.3 mm thick without deformation at all times. The value of Z2 is suitably 15 mm, but when the thickness of the sheet is changed to 0.32 due to the difference in lots, the first sheet holding member 2 comes into contact with the sheet laminate 22 at the same vertical position every time. Therefore, about 46 sheets are generated continuously. In the present embodiment, 46 sheets, which is the value of the number of sheets obtained by measuring the number of sheets, is the value of the position of the first sheet holding member 2 in the vertical direction. Convert as 2 mm. Then, the vertical position of the first sheet holding member 2 is moved vertically downward by that value, and it is possible to always separate the predetermined number of sheets near 50 sheets. In this embodiment, the feedback timing is obtained by averaging the value of the number of sheets of 50 times and changing the value of the vertical position Z2 of the first sheet holding member 2 at the time of separation from the 51st time. By performing such control, it is possible to always perform the number separation corresponding to the latest sheet state, and to reduce the load of sheet number adjustment performed in the subsequent process.

<Example 4>
As shown in FIG. 10A, the seat 1 can move back and forth and left and right by the amount of clearance 30 with the hopper 4. When the table 5 loaded with the sheet laminate is lowered after the separation operation, only some of the sheets included in the sheet laminate may move back and forth and right and left in the hopper 4 due to vibration and descent acceleration. Then, as shown in FIG. 10B, the side surfaces of the sheet laminate are uneven, and some sheet edges protrude from the side surfaces. If the protruding sheet edge 25 exists at the contact position of the sheet holding members 2 and 3, the sheet holding members 2 and 3 exert excessive force on the sheet edge 25 as shown in FIG. May be crushed and edge breaks 26 may occur. This problem is that when the sheet holding operation is performed, the stopper 6 presses the sheet stack from above, and it is difficult to move a small number of sheets included in the sheet stack against the pressing force. Due to being.

  In this embodiment, in order to prevent such a situation, a correction mechanism is further provided in addition to the configuration of the above-described embodiment in order to correct the side surfaces of the sheet laminate prior to sheet separation. FIG. 11 is a block diagram of the apparatus of this embodiment, and FIG. 13 is a diagram for explaining the operation. This is a configuration in which two correction cylinders 27 (correction mechanisms) are added to the apparatus of the first embodiment. The number of correction cylinders 27 is not limited to two, but may be one or three or more.

  Each of the two correction cylinders 27 is provided with a contact surface 29 with the sheet laminated body 22 at the tip thereof, and expands and contracts with a predetermined stroke in the horizontal direction to move the contact surface 29. The contact surface 29 is a cylindrical Duracon in this example, but the shape and material are not limited to this. The size of the columnar shape in the height direction is the same as or larger than the size of the first sheet holding member 2 in the height direction. The correction cylinder 27 is disposed below the first sheet holding member 2, and the same side surface of the sheet laminate 22 is pressed in both the sheet holding operation and the correction operation. In the vertical direction, the distance between the contact surface 29 and the first elastic member 9 is equal to the distance that the table 5 moves up and down. Therefore, the contact surface 29 contacts the sheet bundle including at least the sheet bundle with which the first elastic member 9 contacts in the sheet holding operation in the correction operation. Further, the stroke of the correction cylinder 27 is determined so that the distance from the position when the contact surface 29 is most advanced to the inside of the guide facing the cylinder is a value obtained by adding the maximum tolerance to the sheet size. By satisfying this dimensional relationship, even if the installed sheet has a maximum size within the tolerance range, the sheet edge is not crushed by the contact surface 29.

  Next, an operation sequence will be described using the flowchart of FIG. Steps S1 to S8 are operations for separating / conveying a predetermined number of sheets from the sheet laminate, and these are as described above with reference to FIG. As described above, when the table 5 descends, the sheet laminate 22 may become uneven. The next step is to correct this irregularity. In step S <b> 9, the correction cylinder 27 is advanced as shown in FIG. 13A, and the ends of a plurality of target sheets are pushed in by the contact surface 29. In this correction operation, the stopper 6 is away from the sheet laminate and does not hold the sheet laminate, so that the sheet jumping out of the bundle can easily move laterally in the bundle. . Next, in step S10, the correction cylinder 27 is retracted and returned to the initial position as shown in FIG. In this way, the side surface of the sheet laminate is corrected to a state in which the side surfaces are aligned vertically. The cylinder advance / retreat is not limited to once, but may be repeated a plurality of times in consideration of the paper type, the number of separated sheets, the slipperiness of the sheet, and the like. Further, step 9 may be performed simultaneously with step 8.

  Subsequently, when the next separation operation is performed, the table 5 is raised and securely held by the sheet holding members 2 and 3, so that the sheet edge crushing failure does not occur. In the procedure shown in FIG. 12, the correction operation is described as being performed after a certain separation operation. However, if the viewpoint is changed, the correction operation is performed prior to the next separation operation.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Sheet 2 1st sheet holding member 3 2nd sheet holding member 5 Table 15 Lifting mechanism 22 Sheet laminated body 27 Correction cylinder (correction mechanism)
29 Contact surface

Claims (16)

A table on which the sheet laminate is placed;
A holding part for sandwiching a part of the side surface of the sheet laminate from both sides;
An elevating mechanism for elevating the table or the holding unit;
A correction mechanism for aligning the sheet laminate by pressing the side of the sheet laminate;
Have
The holding is performed by sandwiching a part of the side surface of the sheet laminated body placed on the table from both sides by the holding part, and then lowering the table by the lifting mechanism or raising a part of the holding part. Separating apparatus for separating sheets sandwiched between sections   The holding portion includes a first holding member having a first plane that contacts a part of a side surface of the sheet laminate, and a second holding member having a second plane facing the first holding member. The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the apparatus is a sheet separating apparatus.   The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the first plane and the second plane are surfaces of an elastic member.   The second plane has a size larger than that of the first plane in the direction of lifting by the lifting mechanism, and the lower end of the first plane faces the second plane in the horizontal direction. The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 2 or 3.   5. The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the holding unit sandwiches the sheet sandwiched between the first plane and the second plane at an interval such that the sheet is curved. 6. .   The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 5, wherein the sheet sandwiched between the first plane and the second plane is curved downward.   The sheet laminate is brought into contact with the side surface of the sheet laminate placed on the table, and then the first plane is brought into contact with the opposite side surface of the sheet laminate. The sheet separating apparatus according to any one of claims 2 to 6, wherein the holding unit sandwiches the sheet from both sides.   The sheet according to claim 7, wherein when the first plane is brought into contact, the first plane is moved to a position smaller than a minimum value within a dimensional tolerance of a width dimension of the sheet. Separation equipment.   The said raising / lowering mechanism moves the said table below after the said holding part pinches | interposes the said sheet | seat laminated body, or moves the said holding part upward, The any one of Claim 1 to 8 characterized by the above-mentioned. The sheet separating apparatus according to 1.   The sheet according to any one of claims 1 to 9, further comprising: a hopper that guides the sheet laminated body at four corners of the table; and a hand that receives the separated sheet sandwiched by the holding unit. Separation equipment.   11. The apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a stopper provided above the table, wherein when the table is raised by the elevating mechanism, an upper surface of the sheet laminated body contacts the stopper. 2. The sheet separating apparatus according to item 1.   The said raising / lowering mechanism can raise / lower the said table and the said holding | maintenance part independently, The height of the said holding | maintenance part can be changed according to the number of separation. 2. The sheet separating apparatus according to item 1.   The sheet separating apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 12, wherein the correction mechanism is provided below the holding portion.   The sheet separating apparatus according to claim 13, wherein the correction mechanism includes a cylinder that expands and contracts in a horizontal direction, and a contact surface provided at a tip of the cylinder.   15. The correction mechanism performs a correction operation on the sheet stack placed on the table in a state where the sheet is separated by the holding unit and the table is lowered. The sheet separating apparatus according to any one of the above. Align the sheet laminate by pressing the side of the sheet laminate placed on the table,
Sandwiching part of the side surface of the aligned sheet laminate from both sides with a holding part,
A sheet separating method, wherein the sheet sandwiched by the holding part is separated by lowering the table or raising a part of the holding part.

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