JP3081473B2 - Paper sheet separation device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic sorting apparatus for sorting and reordering sheets including so-called letters such as postcards and envelopes, and more particularly, to a bundle of such sheets. And a sheet separating mechanism that separates and transports each sheet.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art An automatic device that sorts and sorts paper sheets including so-called letters, such as postcards and envelopes, housed in a hopper while separating and sending them one by one is already known, for example, in a postal processing system. It has already been put to practical use. As an example of a sheet separating mechanism in such a conventional automatic device, for example, a device described in JP-B-43-22075 is already known. In this device, a bundle of sheets in a hopper is removed. The fork, which is a sheet feeding means for sending the sheet to the separating means, is driven and controlled only by a signal detected by the sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether the sheet has reached the separating means.

That is, in the sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether or not the sheet has reached the separating means, the fork determines that the detecting means is not pushed with a certain force or more and there is no sheet. When the sheet is detected, the sheet detection unit is controlled to be pressed with a certain force or more and stopped when it is determined that the sheet is present.

[0004]

As described above, in the above-mentioned prior art, the fork, which is a sheet feeding means for feeding a bundle of sheets in one section in the hopper to the separating means,
Driving is controlled only by a signal detected by the sheet arrival detecting means. By the way, an automatic machine handling paper sheets must process paper sheets having different thicknesses. In such a case, in the drive control method of the conventional sheet feeding means, particularly when a thick sheet is separated, only the control based on the detection signal from the sheet arrival detection means in the separation means. In this case, there is a problem that the driving of the fork, which is the paper sheet feeding means, cannot catch up, and the following paper sheets cannot be sucked into the suction holes of the suction belt, and a feeding mistake (misfeed) occurs.

[0005] This is because a fork collectively pushes out and transports a bundle of paper sheets in one section in a hopper, but when a thick paper sheet is separated first, a subsequent paper sheet is separated. The distance to press is increased by the thickness. Such a change in the length of the transport distance of the paper sheet by the fork cannot be sufficiently grasped only by the detection signal from the above-described paper sheet arrival detecting means, so that the fork drive cannot catch up and is originally attracted. Even if it is the right time, the following sheet is not sent to the separating means, and the sheet to be separated cannot be sucked into the suction hole of the suction belt, and a feeding mistake (misfeed) occurs. Become. In addition, such a feeding error causes a reduction in the processing capacity of an automatic machine that handles paper sheets.

Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide an improved feeding device capable of reducing the occurrence of a feeding mistake (misfeed). An object of the present invention is to provide an automatic sheet sorting apparatus having a high processing capability using the improved sheet separating mechanism together with the sheet separating mechanism.

[0007]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to achieve the above object, the present invention proposes an apparatus for separating bundles of sheets one by one. A hopper for storing papers, a paper feeding means for feeding the papers stored in the hopper in a bundle, a driving means for driving the paper feeding means, and the papers A separating unit that separates and sends out the sheets sent in a bundle from the feeding unit one by one, and a sheet reaching unit that detects whether the bundle of sheets has reached the separating unit; A sheet separation device comprising: a detection unit; and a sheet feeding unit drive control unit that controls the driving unit for driving the sheet feeding unit based on a detection signal from the sheet arrival detection unit. A mechanism for generating a detection signal for controlling the paper sheet feeding means. In addition to the paper sheet reaches the detection means, further, a paper sheet separation mechanism having another conveying state detecting means for detecting a transport state of the sheet.

[0008] Also, in order to achieve the above object,
The present invention proposes a paper sheet separating method for separating and sending paper sheets sent in a bundle to a separating unit from a hopper by a paper sheet feeding unit in the above-mentioned paper sheet separating mechanism. Wherein the sheet feeding unit drive control unit that controls a driving unit that drives the sheet feeding unit includes a signal from the sheet arrival detection unit and a signal from the other conveyance state detection unit. This is a sheet separating method for driving the sheet feeding means using a signal.

Further, in order to achieve the above-mentioned object of the present invention, there is provided an automatic sheet sorting apparatus for sorting sheets such as postcards and envelopes according to a predetermined judgment criterion. Paper sheet separating mechanism for separating leaves one by one, transport means for transporting separated paper sheets, alignment means for correcting skew and shift of paper sheets, paper sheets Reading means for reading the symbols required for the sorting described in the above, storing means for storing the paper sheets classified based on the read information of the paper sheets, and transferring the paper sheets to the specified storing means. Transport switching means for transporting,
And, in a device having a control means for controlling the entire apparatus, the sheet separating mechanism is proposed as an automatic sheet sorting apparatus using the sheet separating mechanism of the sheet. I have.

[0010] More specifically, according to the embodiment,
First, as a first solving means, a separating means for separating and sending a plurality of paper sheets one by one, a hopper for replenishing a plurality of paper sheets separated by the separating means, and a paper inserted in the hopper A sheet feeding means for sending the leaves to the separating means and preventing the sheets from tipping over, a sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether the sheets have reached the separating means, and the sheet reaching A sheet separating mechanism having a sheet feeding unit drive control unit for controlling the driving of the sheet feeding unit using the detection signal of the detecting unit, and detecting the passage of the separated sheets in the sheet separating mechanism. Even if the sheet arrival detection means outputs a signal for stopping the driving of the sheet feeding means, the sheet detection means generates a signal for passing the sheet even if the sheet arrival detection means outputs a signal for stopping the driving of the sheet feeding means. The leaf feeding means is driven by a certain amount.

[0011] Further, as a second solving means, there are a separating means for separating and sending a plurality of paper sheets one by one, a hopper for replenishing a plurality of paper sheets separated by the separating means, and a hopper inserted into the hopper. A sheet feeding means for sending the separated sheets to the separating means and preventing the sheets from tipping over, a sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether the sheets have reached the separating means, and the paper A sheet separating mechanism having a sheet feeding means drive control unit for controlling the driving of the sheet feeding means using the detection signal of the sheet arrival detecting means, and detecting the passage of the suction holes of the suction belt in the sheet separating mechanism. A belt suction hole detecting means is provided, and even when the sheet arrival detecting means outputs a signal for stopping the driving of the sheet feeding means, the number of times the suction belt has passed through the suction holes is detected, and The paper feeder is driven by a certain amount. It was so.

The third solving means has the same configuration as the second means, and even if the sheet arrival detecting means outputs a signal for stopping the driving of the sheet feeding means, the third means for solving the problem is the same. The sheet feeding means is driven when the suction holes of the suction belt have passed until the number of times of passage through the suction holes is detected and reaches a certain number.

A fourth solution means is a separation means for separating and sending a plurality of paper sheets one by one, a hopper for replenishing the plurality of paper sheets separated by the separation means, and a paper inserted in the hopper. A sheet feeding means for sending the leaves to the separating means and preventing the sheets from tipping over, a sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether the sheets have reached the separating means, and the sheet reaching A sheet separating mechanism having a sheet feeding unit drive control unit for controlling the driving of the sheet feeding unit using the detection signal of the detecting unit, and detecting the passage of the separated sheets in the sheet separating mechanism. Passage detecting means, provided with a thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet after separation, even when the sheet arrival detecting means is outputting a signal to stop driving the sheet feeding means , When a paper sheet is detected to be passed, a separating sheet sender according to the thickness of the passed paper sheet It was to drive.

A fifth solution means is a separating means for separating and sending a plurality of paper sheets one by one, a hopper for replenishing the plurality of paper sheets separated by the separating means, and a paper inserted in the hopper. A sheet feeding means for sending the leaves to the separating means and preventing the sheets from tipping over, a sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether the sheets have reached the separating means, and the sheet reaching A sheet separating mechanism having a sheet feeding unit drive control unit for controlling the driving of the sheet feeding unit using the detection signal of the detecting unit, and detecting the passage of the separated sheets in the sheet separating mechanism. Even if the sheet detection device includes a passage detection unit and a suction belt suction hole detection unit that detects the passage of the suction hole of the suction belt, the sheet arrival detection unit outputs a signal for stopping the driving of the sheet feeding unit. , Detected the passage of the suction holes of the suction belt, and detected the passage of paper sheets The case driven by a certain amount of paper sheet feeding means, and to drive the paper sheet feeding means detects the passage of the number of times the suction holes, which is also the case not detect the passage of the paper sheet.

The sixth solution means has the same configuration as the fifth means, and even if the sheet arrival detecting means outputs a signal for stopping the driving of the sheet feeding means, the suction belt is attracted. Detects the passage of holes, and if the passage of paper sheets is detected, drives the paper sheet feeding means.Also, the passage of suction holes is detected a certain number of times even when the passage of paper sheets is not detected. Until this is done, the sheet feeding means is driven.

[0016] A seventh solution means is a separating means for separating and sending a plurality of paper sheets one by one, a hopper for replenishing the plurality of paper sheets separated by the separating means, and a paper inserted in the hopper. A sheet feeding means for sending the leaves to the separating means and preventing the sheets from tipping over, a sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether the sheets have reached the separating means, and the sheet reaching A sheet separating mechanism having a sheet feeding unit drive control unit for controlling the driving of the sheet feeding unit using the detection signal of the detecting unit, and detecting the passage of the separated sheets in the sheet separating mechanism. A passage detecting means, a thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the separated paper sheet, and a suction belt suction hole detecting means for detecting the passage of the suction hole of the suction belt; Even if a signal to stop driving the paper sheet feeding means is output, the suction belt When the passage of the suction hole is detected, and when the passage of the paper sheet is detected, the separating sheet feeding means corresponding to the thickness of the passed paper sheet is driven, and the passage of the paper sheet is not detected. In this case, when the passage of the suction holes is detected a certain number of times, the sheet feeding means is driven.

The eighth solution means has the same configuration as the seventh means, and even if the sheet arrival detecting means outputs a signal for stopping the driving of the sheet feeding means, the suction belt When the passage of the paper sheet is detected, and when the passage of the paper sheet is detected, the separating sheet feeding means corresponding to the thickness of the passed paper sheet is driven, and the passage of the paper sheet is detected. Even when the sheet is not detected, the sheet feeding means is driven until the passage of the suction hole is detected a certain number of times.

[0018]

According to the above-described paper sheet separating mechanism, paper sheet separating method, and automatic paper sheet sorting apparatus of the present invention,
Not only the detection signal from the sheet arrival detection means, but also the sheet passage detection means for detecting the passage of the separated sheets by the separation means, the separation operation of the separation means by detecting the movement of the suction belt A suction operation detecting means for detecting the passage of the suction holes of the suction belt,
Alternatively, the apparatus further includes another conveyance state detection unit for detecting the conveyance state of the sheet, including a thickness detection unit for detecting the thickness of the sheet after separation by the separation unit, or By using the output signal of the above, it is possible to more reliably and early confirm the arrival of the paper sheet to the separation means, which could not be sufficiently grasped by the above-described paper sheet arrival detection means alone. Therefore, it is possible to reduce or eliminate the occurrence of a feeding mistake (misfeed) due to the drive of the fork not being able to catch up, thereby preventing a reduction in the processing capacity of an automatic machine for handling paper sheets. Become.

Further, according to a specific solution according to the above-mentioned embodiment, first, the first solution does not drive the sheet feeding means only by the sheet arrival detecting means, but rather the paper sheet. Each time a leaf passes, the paper sheet feeding means is driven. According to the second and third solutions,
Instead of driving the paper sheet feeding means only by the paper sheet arrival detection means, detection of passage of the suction hole of the suction belt, that is,
Since the sheet feeding means is driven at the timing of separation, the sheet feeding means can be driven even if a feeding error occurs. According to the fourth aspect, the sheet feeding mechanism is driven by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the sheet separated by the separating unit. Further, according to the fifth and sixth solutions, the separation timing is detected by the suction hole of the suction belt, and furthermore, the passage of the sheet is detected by detecting the passage of the sheet. Can change the driving method. Finally, according to the seventh and eighth solving means, the separation timing is detected by the suction hole of the suction belt, and furthermore, the passage of the paper sheet is detected by detecting the passage of the paper sheet. In addition, the driving method can be changed in the case of non-passage. In addition, when the paper passes, the paper feed mechanism is surely driven by the thickness of the paper.

[0020]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 2 is a diagram illustrating an automatic sheet sorting apparatus that sorts and sorts a bundle of sheets one by one using a sheet separating mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1 shows an internal configuration of a leaf-type assembling / sorting machine. The route assembling / sorting machine sorts and rearranges using a barcode written on a part of the surface of a sheet. However, the present invention is not limited to this. Needless to say, the division and rearrangement may be performed by means.

The route assembling / separating machine 100 includes a separating unit 101 for separating bundled sheets one by one, and a hopper 1 for supplying the bundled sheets to the separating unit 101.
02, conveying means 103 for conveying the sheets separated one by one, and a driving source 10 for driving the conveying means
4. Alignment device 105 for correcting skew and shift of conveyed paper sheets, reading means 106 for reading barcodes written on the paper sheets, and stacking the divided paper sheets Shelves 107, reject boxes 108 and 109 for accumulating sheets whose skew and shift could not be corrected in the above, and sheets whose barcode could not be read, and transport of the sheets It comprises a gate 110 for switching directions, and control means (not shown).

A bottom plate 11 is provided below the sectioning shelf 107.
The bottom plate 116 is mounted so as to move in the direction perpendicular to the plane of the drawing, and is driven by a drive source (not shown). The sorting shelf 107 is provided with the bottom plate 116.
And the driving source for driving the
The sub-frame 111 is attached to the main frame 114 via a wire 112, a pulley 113, and the like, and is driven vertically by a motor 115. In addition, the guide surface 102a on the back side of the hopper 102 is
7 is provided so as to be retracted in the depth direction of the drawing when the descent is performed.

Next, a description will be given of the operation of the paper path assembling / sorting machine configured as described above. First, the paper sheets to be sorted are set in the hopper 102 in a bundle state. The space in the hopper 102 is divided into several parts by a fork member 101a which is a sheet feeding means for sending a bundle of sheets to the separating means while preventing the sheets from falling over. I have. These plurality of fork members 101
During a, paper sheets are supplied, but when bundled paper sheets are supplied, the fork member 101a and the belt 101b loaded with paper sheets below the hopper 102 are driven at the same speed, Thus, the paper sheet is conveyed to the separation unit 101.

Subsequently, the bundle of sheets sent to the separation means 101 is suctioned and separated one by one by the suction belt 101c and sent out. The sheets sent out in this manner are conveyed while being clamped by the conveying means 103, and the skew and shift that occur at the time of separation improve the bar code reading rate written on the sheets. To be corrected by the positioning device 105. Also, the positioning device 105
A detection sensor (not shown) for detecting skew and shift is provided near the exit of the positioning device.
05, the paper sheet whose skew or shift could not be corrected within a predetermined allowable range is detected by this detection sensor, the detection signal drives the gate 110b, and the skew or shift cannot be corrected. The rejected paper sheets are stored in the reject box 108.

On the other hand, the paper sheet whose skew or shift has been corrected within the allowable range is then conveyed to the reading means 106, and the reading means 106 uses the bar code written on a partial surface of the paper sheet. Is read. Based on the read data, a control unit (not shown) determines which of the sorting shelves 107 the paper sheet is to be stored in, and outputs a control signal for driving to open the gate 110a in that section. . In particular, when assembling a route in a postal processing system, a sorting operation is performed according to a predetermined criterion such as sorting by data of the first place. Here, if the barcode cannot be read or if the sorting shelf 107 to be stored is full, the paper sheet is conveyed to the reject box 109. On the other hand, in the case where the sheets are simply sorted, and when the sorting shelf 107 to be stored is full, some of the sorting shelves 107 are set as spare sorting shelves in advance, and Is controlled to be conveyed to the reject box 109.

When performing the operation of assembling the route, the hopper 1
02 is moved to a position where the paper sheets are delivered corresponding to the position of the sorting shelf 107. These positions are predetermined and are controlled, for example, by detecting means that emits a signal when the position is reached. Specifically, when the fork member 101a comes to a predetermined position at the time of delivery, the sorting shelf 107 next moves the sub-frame 1
It descends every eleven. At the same time, the guide surface 102a on the back side of the hopper 102 retreats to the back. At this time, as shown in FIG. 3 (in this figure, the same components as those in FIG. 1 and reference numerals which are not necessary for the description are omitted), the bottom plate 116 is located just above the fork 101a. Is lowered to a position where it comes to The positions of the top dead center and the bottom dead center of the section shelf 107 are also predetermined, and sensors for detecting these points are provided at the corresponding positions.

When the section shelf 107 reaches the bottom dead center,
The lowering operation is stopped. Then, next, the partition shelf 10
The bottom plate 116 at the bottom of 7 is retracted toward the back at a predetermined speed. In this way, the paper sheets stored in the sorting shelf 107 have no bottom plate 116, so that they fall freely and are set again in a state of being sorted in the hopper 102. When the sheets are set in the hopper 102 again, the sorting shelf 107
Rise, and at the same time, the guide surface 102a on the back side of the hopper 102 returns to its original position. Furthermore, section shelf 107
Comes to the position of the top dead center and stops.
Is returned to the original position, and a state in which paper sheets can be stored in the sorting shelf 107 again is obtained.

In the case of assembling the route, the sheets that have been set again are separated one by one, and this time, the sheets are separated according to a criterion different from the first one, such as dividing them into tens places. Classes are stored separately. By performing such an operation several times, it is possible to rearrange the sheets in a predetermined order.

In the above-described embodiment of the present invention, reading means 106 are provided above and below the transport path in order to read bar codes of paper sheets. However, if the sheet can be aligned with the surface on which the barcode is written by providing, for example, a reversing unit before reading the barcode of the sheet, if the reading unit 106 is provided on only one side, Is enough. In addition, the sorting shelves 107 in which sheets are stored are set each time the sorting is performed, and are not fixed in advance.

Next, the details of the paper sheet separating mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention used in the above-described route assembling / sorting machine will be described. Here, FIG. 4 is a side view showing the overall configuration of the paper sheet separating mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the paper sheet separating mechanism. As is apparent from these figures, the sheet separating mechanism includes a separating means including a main chamber 1, a sub-chamber 2, a blowing nozzle 3, an attraction belt 4, and a sheet deforming projection 6, and a hopper 5. And a fork member 7 serving as a paper sheet feeding means.
Paper sheet arrival detection means 8, paper sheet passage detection means 9
And a thickness detecting means 10, a suction hole detecting means 11, and a paper sheet detecting means 15 in a hopper.

The main chamber 1 is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) and is installed at an end of the hopper 5 (the right end in the illustrated embodiment). This main chamber 1
Is a suction surface 1 for sucking the paper sheet 12 after sucking it.
A plurality of suction holes 1b are formed in a. The sub-chamber 2 is also connected to a vacuum pump (not shown), and is installed below the main chamber 1.
Like the main chamber 1, the sub-chamber 2 also has a suction hole 2a formed on the suction surface side (left side in the figure), and thereby sucks and sucks the paper sheets 12. The sub-chamber 2 reliably draws the first sheet 12a on the rightmost side of the drawing to the surface of the suction belt 4 (hereinafter, referred to as a separation surface), and also the second sheet 12b.
By suctioning the lower end of the sheet, a double feed in which the following paper sheets 12 are separated and conveyed in an overlapping manner is prevented.

Next, the blow nozzle 3 is also connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) (a discharge side of the pump) and has a blow hole 3a for blowing air. The blowing nozzle 3 is installed at the bottom of the hopper 5, and blows air to the lower end of the paper sheet approaching the separation surface, thereby forming an air layer between the paper sheets (for example, between the paper sheets 12a and 12b). Is used to separate and sort bundles of paper sheets one by one.

The suction belt 4 is disposed so as to cover the suction hole 1b of the main chamber 1, and is driven by a drive mechanism (not shown) in a sheet conveyance direction (the direction of the arrow in the figure). The suction holes 4a are also formed in the suction belt 4, and the suction holes 1a of the main chamber 1 are opened and closed while the suction holes 4a also move with the movement of the suction belt 4. The paper sheet 12a is sucked and sucked through the suction hole 4a of the suction belt 4.

The hopper 5 is a portion on which the paper sheets 12 to be separated are set. The paper sheet deformation projection 6 is provided on the suction surface side (left side) of the sub-chamber 2. This projection 6 cooperates with suction and suction by the sub-chamber 2,
The lower end of the paper sheet is deformed in a bow shape, and in particular, the air from the above-mentioned blowing nozzle 3 is easily flown into the gap between the first paper sheet 12a and the second paper sheet 12b. The fork member 7 feeds the paper sheets 12 set in the hopper 5 to the separation surface.

Next, the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is a signal detecting means for controlling the driving of the fork member 7. That is, the fork member 7 is not driven when the sheet 12 has reached the separation surface, and the fork member 7 is not driven when the sheet 12 has not reached the separation surface.
Is driven so that the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is attached to the suction surface of the sub-chamber 2 (left side).
The sub-chamber 2 is installed such that its tip projects from the suction surface of the sub-chamber 2 by a certain dimension. Further, according to the present invention, as a signal detecting means for controlling the driving of the fork member 7, in addition to the above-mentioned sheet arrival detecting means 8, there is further provided another conveying state detecting means (reference numeral 16 in FIG. 1). ), For example, a sheet passage detecting unit 9 for detecting the passage of a sheet, a thickness detecting unit 10 for detecting the thickness of a sheet passing therethrough, and the suction belt Suction hole detecting means for detecting the suction hole of No. 4
It is conceivable to use at least one of the eleven detection means.

The components constituting the other transport state detecting means 16 will be described. First, the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 is for detecting the passage of the paper sheets 12 separated by the separating means. Yes, it is installed downstream of the separation means.
The signal detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 is sent to the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13 shown in FIG. The thickness detecting means 10 detects the thickness of the paper sheet 12 separated by the separating means and sends a signal to the paper sheet feeding means driving control unit 13, and the thickness detecting means 10 is similarly operated. It is installed downstream of the separation means. The paper sheet detecting means 9
And the thickness detecting means 10 may be constituted by the same detecting means, or may be constituted by separate means. Further, specific examples of the paper sheet detecting means 9 and the thickness detecting means 10 include an optical sensor using a laser or the like, an ultrasonic sensor, and the like. The detecting means is not limited to these as long as the detecting means and the thickness thereof can be detected, and any detecting means may be used.

The suction hole detecting means 11 detects the passage of the suction belt 4 through the suction holes 4a, and the detection position is equal to the timing at which the detected signal separates the paper sheet 12. Is set in advance as follows. As a specific means of the suction hole detecting means 11, there is, for example, an optical sensor. If the speed at which the paper sheets 12 are separated is constant, the timing of this separation is constant. Therefore, if a signal of the separation timing can be sent to the sheet feeding means drive control unit 13 on software, a similar signal can be generated without installing the suction hole detecting means 11. It is possible.

The paper sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper 5
This is a means for detecting whether or not the paper sheet 12 is present in the hopper 5. Therefore, it is necessary to install the paper sheet 12 in the hopper 5 at a position where the presence of the paper sheet 12 can be confirmed. As a specific means of the paper sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper, there is an optical sensor.

Next, the operation of the paper sheet separating mechanism according to the embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. First, the paper sheets 12 set in the hopper 5 are sent to the vicinity of the separation surface in a bundle state by the fork member 7. Bundles of paper 12 sent to near the separation surface
Here, the paper sheet deformation projection 6 and the suction / adsorption force of the sub-chamber 2 deform in a bow shape, and at this time, a gap is formed between the adjacent paper sheets 12. At this time, by blowing air from the blowing nozzle 3 into the gap, the bundle of sheets 12 near the separating means is separated one by one.

Further, the suction and suction on the separation surface will be described in detail. While the suction belt 4 covers the suction hole 1b of the main chamber 1, the sub-chamber 2 holds the lower end of the first sheet 12a. Suction and draw to the separation surface.
Thereafter, when the suction belt 4 moves and the suction hole 4 a opens the suction hole 1 b of the main chamber 1, the first sheet 12 a is suctioned by the suction belt 4 by the suction force of the main chamber 1. Then, along with the movement of the suction belt 4,
Bundles of sheets are separated and transported one by one to the upper transport path. After this separation, the fork member 7 feeds the succeeding second sheet 12b to the separation surface.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit of the sheet separating mechanism, in particular, a control circuit of the fork member 7. As shown in FIG. In this control circuit, as shown in the figure, the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13 for controlling the driving of the paper sheet feeding means driving motor 14 is connected to the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 and at the same time, Further, it is also connected to a sheet passage detecting means 9, a thickness detecting means 10, and a suction hole detecting means 11 which constitute another conveying state detecting means 16. That is, the control of the fork member 7 is performed in addition to the sheet arrival detecting means 8 for detecting that the sheet 12 has reached the separation surface, and further, the sheet passage detection for detecting the passage of the sheet. The detection signal from the means 9, the detection signal from the thickness detection means 10 for detecting the thickness of the passing paper sheet, and the detection signal from the suction hole detection means 11 for detecting the suction holes of the suction belt 4. This is performed using the detection signals (all or some of them).

The fork member drive control circuit, in particular, the paper sheet feeding means drive control section 13 is constituted by, for example, a microcomputer. Therefore, its operation differs depending on the flowchart. This will be described below with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG.

In FIG. 6, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit starts at step 600. Then, in step 608, the timer for measuring the time during which the paper sheet 12 is not present in the hopper 5 is reset. next,
In step 610, the paper sheets 12 to be separated
Is detected by the sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper. Here, when it is detected that the paper sheet 12 is not present (NO), the process proceeds to step 682 and the timer is counted up, whereby the time during which the paper sheet 12 does not exist in the hopper 5 is transmitted. It is measured by the drive control unit 13. In step 684, it is determined whether or not a predetermined time T has elapsed. Until the predetermined time T is reached (NO
Returns to step 610. On the other hand, a predetermined time T
If the answer is YES (YES), the operation proceeds to the end operation of the apparatus in step 688, and the operation of the fork member drive control circuit is ended in step 690.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step 610 that the paper sheet 12 is present (YES),
In step 620, ON or OFF of the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is detected. Here, the sheet arrival detecting means 8
Is ON when the paper sheet 12 has reached the separating means and the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 has been pressed, and conversely,
The state in which the sheet arrival detection means 8 is OFF means that the sheet 12
Indicates that the sheet has not reached the separation means and the sheet arrival detection means 8 has not been pressed.

In the above step 620, the sheet 1
If No. 2 is not near the separation surface and the sheet arrival detection means 8 is OFF (YES), the process proceeds to step 625.
Then, the fork member 7 is driven, and then the process returns to step 608. On the other hand, when the sheet arrival detection means 8 is ON in step 620, the fork member 7 is stopped in step 628, and the process proceeds to step 640, where the sheet passage detection means 9 determines whether the sheet 12 has passed. Detect if. In this step 640, when the passage of the sheet 12 is not detected by the sheet passage detecting means 9 (NO), the processing returns to step 608. On the other hand, when the passage of the paper sheet 12 is detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 in this step 640 (YES), the processing shifts to step 680, where the fork member 7 is driven by a fixed amount, and then step 608 is performed. Return to

That is, a first operation example of the operation of the fork member drive control circuit is a detection signal for detecting the passage of a sheet from the sheet passage detecting means 9 in addition to the sheet arrival detecting means 8. Is used to control the fork member.

Next, a second operation example of the fork member drive control circuit different from the first operation example will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. First, in step 700, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit starts. Then, in step 705, the number of passages n of the suction belt 4 through the suction holes 4a is reset, and in step 708, the timer for measuring the time during which the sheets 12 are not present in the hopper 5 is reset.

Next, in step 710, the sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper detects whether the sheet 12 to be separated exists in the hopper 5. As a result, when it is detected that there is no sheet 12 (NO), the timer counts up in step 782. That is, paper sheets 1
The time during which the sheet 2 does not exist in the hopper 5 is measured by the sheet feeding means drive control unit 13. Then, step 784
It is determined that a predetermined time has elapsed, but the predetermined time T
Until (NO period), the above processing is performed in step 7
Return to 10. On the other hand, if the predetermined time T has elapsed (YES), the process proceeds to the end operation of the device in step 788, and the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends in step 790.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step 710 that the paper sheet 12 is present (YES),
In step 720, the sheet arrival detection means 8 is turned on.
Or, detect OFF. In this step 720, when the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is OFF (YES) because the paper sheet 12 is not near the separation surface, step 72 is executed.
In step 5, the fork member 7 is driven, and thereafter, the process returns to step 705 described above.

On the other hand, when the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is ON (NO) in step 720, the fork member 7 is stopped in step 728, and the process proceeds to step 730 to suck the passage of the suction belt 4 through the suction hole 4a. It is detected by the hole detecting means 11. Here, the suction holes 4 of the suction belt 4
The reason why the fork member 7 is driven by the passage of “a” is that when a feeding error occurs, the passage of the paper sheet 12 cannot be detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9, and therefore, the fork member 7 is not driven. is there.

If the suction hole 4a of the suction belt 4 is not detected in step 730 (NO),
The process returns to step 705. On the other hand, if the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 are detected in step 730 (YES), the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 are detected in step 742.
The number n of times a is passed is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13. Further, in step 744, the process returns to step 708 until the number of passes n of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed a predetermined number of times (eg, a times) (NO period). On the other hand, in step 744, when the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed a certain number (a times), the fork member 7 is driven by a certain amount in step 748, and thereafter, the process returns to step 705. .

That is, the second operation example of the operation of the fork member drive control circuit utilizes a detection signal for detecting passage of a suction hole from the suction hole detecting means 11 in addition to the sheet arrival detecting means 8. Thus, more optimal control of the fork member is performed.

A third operation example of the fork member drive control circuit different from the above operation example is shown in FIG.
This will be described with reference to the flowchart of FIG. The third operation example uses the detection signal for detecting the passage of the suction hole from the suction hole detecting means 11 as in the second operation example described above. It is. First, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit starts in step 800, and in step 805, the number n of times of passage of the suction belt 4 through the suction holes 4a is reset. The timer for measuring the time when 12 does not exist is reset.

Next, in step 810, the paper sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper detects whether the paper sheets 12 to be separated exist in the hopper 5. Here, when it is detected that there is no paper sheet 12 to be separated (NO), step 88
At 2, the timer counts up, that is, the time during which the paper sheet 12 does not exist in the hopper 5 is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13. Thereafter, in step 884, it is detected whether or not the predetermined time T has elapsed, and the process returns to step 810 until the predetermined time T is reached (the period of NO). On the other hand, the predetermined time T has been reached (YE
In the case of S), the process proceeds to the end operation of the apparatus in step 888, and the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends in step 890.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step 810 that the sheet 12 is present (YES), in step 820, the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is turned ON or OFF.
FF is detected. That is, in step 820,
When the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is OFF because the sheet 12 is not near the separation surface, the fork member 7 is driven in step 825, and thereafter, the process returns to step 805. On the other hand, when the sheet arrival detection means 8 is ON in step 820, the fork member 7 is stopped in step 828, and the flow proceeds to step 830, where the passage of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is detected by the suction hole detection means 11. To detect.

If the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 are not detected at this step 830 (NO), the process returns to step 805. On the other hand, in step 830, the suction belt 4
When the suction hole 4a is detected, the number n of times the suction belt 4 passes through the suction hole 4a is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13 in step 842.

Further, in step 846, until the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed a predetermined number of times (for example, b times) (NO period), a certain amount The fork member 7 is driven, and thereafter, the process returns to step 808. On the other hand, in step 846, the number of passes n of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed the predetermined number of times (b times) (YE
At S), an abnormality is displayed in step 886, and the process proceeds to an end operation of the apparatus in step 888.
Then, in step 890, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends.

Next, a fourth operation example of the fork member drive control in the control circuit will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In this operation example, a thickness detecting means 10 is employed in place of the suction hole detecting means 11 described above.

At step 900, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit starts. First, in step 908,
The timer for measuring the time when the paper sheet 12 is not present in the hopper 5 is reset. Next, in step 910, whether or not the sheet 12 to be separated is present in the hopper 5 is detected by the sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper, and the sheet 1 to be separated is detected.
When it is detected that there is no 2 (NO), step 982
, The timer count-up, ie, paper sheet 1
The time during which the sheet 2 does not exist in the hopper 5 is measured by the sheet feeding means drive control unit 13. Step 984
, The process returns to step 910 until the predetermined time T is reached (NO period). On the other hand, the predetermined time T has been reached (Y
In the case of ES), the process proceeds to an end operation of the apparatus in step 988, and the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends in step 990.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step 910 that the sheet 12 is present (YES), the ON or OFF of the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is detected in step 920. In this step 920, the paper sheet 12 is not near the separation surface, so that the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is turned off.
In the case of (YES), the fork member 7 is driven in step 925, and thereafter, the process returns to step 908. On the other hand, in step 920, the sheet arrival detecting means 8
Is ON (NO), the fork member 7 is stopped in step 928, and the process proceeds to step 940, where the sheet passage detecting means 9 detects whether the sheet 12 has passed.

In step 940, the paper sheets 12
Is not detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 (N
At O), the process returns to step 908. On the other hand, when the passage of the paper sheet 12 is detected by the paper sheet passage detection means 9 in step 940 (YES), the process proceeds to step 960, where the paper sheet 12 passed by the thickness detection means 10 is used. Detect the thickness of Then, in step 970, the feed amount of the fork member 7 by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13 is determined based on the signal from the thickness detecting means 10, and the fork member 7 is fed by the paper amount by this feeding amount. After the means driving motor 14 is driven, step 9
Return to 08.

Here, to drive the fork member 7 by an amount corresponding to the detected thickness of the paper sheet 12, the following two methods can be considered. The first is to change the driving time of the fork member 7 according to the thickness while keeping the driving speed of the fork member 7 constant, and the other is to make the driving speed according to the thickness while keeping the driving time constant. It is a way to change. To drive the fork member 7 by an amount corresponding to the thickness, any of these methods may be used.

Further, a fifth operation example of the fork member drive control circuit will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step 1000, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit starts. afterwards,
In step 1005, the number of passages n of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is reset, and in step 1008, the timer for measuring the time during which the sheets 12 are not present in the hopper 5 is reset.

Next, in step 1010, whether or not the paper sheet 12 to be separated is present in the hopper 5 is detected by the paper sheet detection means 15 in the hopper. If no (NO) is detected, step 1
At 082, the timer count-up is performed, that is, the time during which the paper sheet 12 does not exist in the hopper 5 is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13. Thereafter, in step 1084, until (N)
(O period) returns to step 1010. On the other hand, if the predetermined time T has elapsed (YES), the process proceeds to an end operation of the apparatus in step 1088, and the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends in step 1090.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step 1010 that the paper sheet 12 is present (YES),
Next, in step 1020, ON or OFF of the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is detected. That is, in step 1020, when the paper sheet 12 is not near the separation surface and the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is OFF (YES), the process proceeds to step 1025 and the fork member 7
, And then the process returns to step 1005. On the other hand, in step 1020, the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is turned on.
In the case of (NO), in step 1028, the fork member 7 is stopped, and the process proceeds to step 1030, where the suction belt 4 is moved.
Through the suction hole 4a is detected by the suction hole detecting means 11.

In this step 1030, the suction belt 4
If no passage through the suction hole 4a is detected (NO),
The process returns to step 1005 described above. On the other hand, if the passage of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is detected in step 1030 (YES), the process proceeds to step 1040, where it is determined whether or not the sheet 12 has passed. 9 to detect.

That is, when the passage of the sheet 12 is not detected by the sheet passage detecting means 9 in step 1040 (NO), the number n of times of passage through the suction hole 4a of the suction belt 4 is determined in step 1042. It is measured by the class feed means drive control unit 13. Step 1
At step 044, until the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed a predetermined number of times (for example, a times) (NO
The process returns to step 1008 during the period of. On the other hand, in this step 1044, the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 are formed.
When the number of passes has passed the predetermined number of times (a times) (YES), in step 1048, the fork member 7 is driven by a certain amount, and thereafter, the process returns to step 1005. When the passage of the paper sheet 12 is detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 in the above step 1040 (YES), the processing shifts to step 1080, where the fork member 7 is driven by a fixed value, and 10
Return to 05.

Further, the sixth fork member drive control circuit
The operation example will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, in step 1100, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit starts. Then, step 11
At step 05, the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is reset, and at step 1108, a timer is reset to measure the time during which the sheets 12 are not present in the hopper 5.

Next, in step 1110, whether or not the sheet 12 to be separated is present in the hopper 5 is detected by the sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper, and as a result, the sheet 12 to be separated is determined. When it is detected that there is no sheet (NO), a timer count-up is performed in step 1182, whereby the time during which the sheet 12 does not exist in the hopper 5 is measured by the sheet feeding unit drive control unit 13. . Thereafter, in step 1184, the process returns to step 1110 until a predetermined time T is reached (the period of NO). On the other hand, when the predetermined time T is reached (YES), the process shifts to an end operation of the apparatus in step 1188. 11
At 90, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step 1110 that the paper sheet 12 is present (YES), in step 1120, ON or OFF of the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is detected. In this step 1120, the paper sheet 12 is not near the separation surface, so that the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is turned off.
In the case of (YES), the fork member 7 is driven in step 1125, and thereafter, the process returns to step 1105.
On the other hand, in step 1120, the sheet arrival detecting means 8
Is ON (NO), the fork member 7 is stopped in step 1128, and the process proceeds to step 1130, where the passage of the suction hole 4a of the suction belt 4 is detected by the suction hole detecting means.
Detect by 11.

On the other hand, in the above step 1130, the passage of the suction belt 4 through the suction hole 4a is not detected (NO).
If so, return to step 1105 while step 1105
At 130, the suction hole 4a of the suction belt 4 was detected (YE
In the case of S), the process proceeds to step 1140, where the sheet passage detecting means 9 detects whether the sheet 12 has passed. In this step 1140, the paper 12
Is not detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 (NO), the number n of times of passage through the suction hole 4a of the suction belt 4 is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13 in step 1142. Further, step 1146
In step 1150, the fork member 7 is driven by a certain amount in step 1150 until the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 passes a predetermined number of times (b times) (NO period). Return to

On the other hand, in step 1146, when the number of times n of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed a predetermined number of times (b times) (YES), step 1
At 186, an abnormality is displayed, and at step 1188, the operation shifts to an end operation of the apparatus. Then, in step 1190, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends. Further, when the passage of the paper sheet 12 is detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 in the above step 1140, the process proceeds to step 1180, where the fork member 7 is driven by a fixed amount, and then returns to step 1105.

Further, a seventh operation example of the fork member drive control circuit will be described with reference to a flowchart shown in FIG. In this operation example, first, step 12
At 00, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit is started. At step 1205, the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is reset. At step 1208, the time during which the sheets 12 are not present in the hopper 5 is measured. Reset the timer of.

Next, at step 1210, whether or not the paper sheet 12 to be separated exists in the hopper 5 is detected by the paper sheet detection means 15 in the hopper.
If it is detected that there is no (NO), the process proceeds to step 1282
, The time during which the separated paper sheets 12 are not present in the hopper 5 is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13. Thereafter, in step 1284, the process returns to step 1210 until a predetermined time T is reached (period of NO). On the other hand, when the predetermined time T has elapsed in step 1284, the process proceeds to an end operation of the apparatus in step 1288, and
Further, in step 1290, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends.

On the other hand, when it is detected in step 1210 that the paper sheet 12 is present (YES), on or off of the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is detected in step 1220. When the paper sheet 12 is not near the separation surface in step 1220, and therefore, when the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8 is OFF, the fork member 7 is driven in step 1225, and the process returns to step 1205. Further, when the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is ON in the above step 1220, the fork member 7 is stopped in step 1228, and the process proceeds to step 1230 to detect the passage of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 by the suction hole detecting means 11. To detect.

If the passage of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is not detected in step 1230,
Return to 05. On the other hand, when the passage of the suction hole 4a of the suction belt 4 is detected in step 1230, the process proceeds to step 1240, where the sheet passage detection unit 9 detects whether the sheet 12 has passed. .

In this step 1240, the sheet 1
If the passage 2 is not detected by the sheet passage detecting means 9 (NO), the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4 a of the suction belt 4 is measured by the sheet feeding means drive control unit 13 in step 1242. Further, step 124
In step 4, the process returns to step 1208 until the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed a predetermined number of times (a times) (NO period). On the other hand, this step 1
In step 244, when the number of times the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 have passed the predetermined number of times (a times) (YES), the fork member 7 is driven by a certain amount in step 1248, and thereafter, the process returns to step 1205. .

Further, when the passage of the paper sheet 12 is detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 in this step 1240 (YES), the processing shifts to step 1260, where the paper sheet passed by the thickness detecting means 10 is used. Twelve thicknesses are detected. In step 1270, the feed amount of the fork member is determined by the sheet feeding unit drive control unit 13 based on the signal of the thickness detection unit 10, and the fork member 7 is moved by the amount corresponding to the feed amount. It is driven by the kind feeding means drive motor 14, and then returns to step 1205.

Finally, the eighth fork member drive control circuit
Will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. Also in this operation example, first, step 1
At 300, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit starts.
a, the number of passages n is reset.
At 8, the timer for measuring the time during which the paper sheet 12 does not exist in the hopper 5 is reset.

Next, in step 1310, whether or not the sheet 12 to be separated is present in the hopper 5 is detected by the sheet detecting means 15 in the hopper. If no (NO) is detected, step 1
At 382, a timer count-up is performed, and the time during which the paper sheet 12 is not present in the hopper 5 is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13, and further, step 138
Until the predetermined time T is reached in No. 4 (NO period), the process returns to step 1310. On the other hand, the predetermined time T has been reached (YE
In the case of S), the process proceeds to the end operation of the apparatus in step 1388, and thereafter, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends in step 1390.

On the other hand, in step 1310, the paper sheets 12
Is detected (YES), step 132
At 0, ON or OFF of the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is detected. In this step 1320, the paper sheet 12 is not near the separation surface, so that the paper sheet arrival detecting means 8
When FF (YES), the fork member 7 is driven in step 1325, and thereafter, the process returns to step 1305. On the other hand, when the sheet arrival detecting means 8 is ON (NO) in step 1320, the fork member 7 is stopped in step 1328, and
Then, the passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is detected by the suction hole detecting means 11.

If the passage of the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 is not detected in step 1330 (NO), the process returns to step 1305, while the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 are detected in step 1330 ( In the case of YES), the process proceeds to step 1340, where the sheet passage detecting means 9 detects whether the sheet 12 has passed. When the passage of the paper sheet 12 is not detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 in this step 1340 (NO), in step 1342, the suction hole 4 of the suction belt 4 is
The number n of times a is passed is measured by the paper sheet feeding means drive control unit 13. Thereafter, in step 1346, the fork member 7 is moved by a certain amount in step 1350 until the number n of passages through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 passes a predetermined number of times (b times) (NO period). Drive and then return to step 1308.

On the other hand, in step 1346, when the number n of times of passage through the suction holes 4a of the suction belt 4 has passed a predetermined number of times (b times) (YES), an abnormality is displayed in step 1386, and furthermore, Step 1
At 388, the operation proceeds to the end operation of the apparatus. Then, in step 1390, the operation of the fork member drive control circuit ends. Further, when the passage of the paper sheet 12 is detected by the paper sheet passage detecting means 9 in the above step 1340 (YES), the process proceeds to step 1360,
Here, the thickness of the passed paper sheet 12 is detected by the thickness detecting means 10. Then, in step 1370,
On the basis of the signal from the thickness detecting means 10, the paper sheet feeding means drive control section 13 determines the feed amount of the fork member, and the paper sheet feeding means drive motor 1
4 to drive the fork member 7, and
Return to 305.

Various examples of the operation of the fork member drive control circuit have been described above.
5, 725, 825, 925, 1025, 1125, 1
The fork member drive speed v of the fork member drive at 225 and 1325 is represented by T,
Assuming that the thickness of the paper sheet 12 is w, it must be set to v = w / T or more.

Steps 744, 944 and 124
The predetermined value a, which is the number of times the suction belt 4 passes through the suction holes 4a, is used to drive the fork member 7 in step 746 only after the number of times a, and on the other hand, until the number of times a This is the number of times for making a mistake (misfeed). Further, steps 748, 948, 1
The drive of the fork member 7 in 248 needs to be driven by an amount corresponding to the thickness of the paper sheet 12 when a sheet of paper 12 is separated.

The value b, which is the number of times the suction belt 4 has passed through the suction hole 4a in steps 846, 1146 and 1346, is determined by the drive of the fork member 7 until the number of times that the suction belt 4 has passed through the suction hole 4a becomes b times. However, when the number of times exceeds b, the fork member 7 pushes the paper sheet 12 too much.
This is the number of times for stopping the driving of the fork member 7.

The amount of driving of the fork member 7 in steps 850, 1150 and 1350 is
The amount by which the fork member is driven in a single pass through the suction hole 4a is multiplied by b, so that the sheet 12 is not pushed too much toward the separation surface. Step 97
Driving the fork member 7 by the thickness of 0, 1270, and 1370 drives the fork member 7 by the thickness of the separated paper sheet 12. In order to drive the fork member 7 by the thickness, a method of accurately measuring the thickness of the sheet 12 and driving the fork member 7 exactly by the thickness, or a method of driving the sheet 12 A method of driving the fork member 7 by determining the thickness from a certain divided range, setting a drive amount for each of the obtained divided ranges, and driving the fork member 7 by the thickness is considered. , Any of these methods can be used.

Finally, steps 680, 1080 and 1
The driving of the fork member 7 in 180 is to set an amount corresponding to the thickness of the sheet 12 to be separated from the outside in advance, and the driving amount is such that the fork member 7 moves the sheet to the separation surface. It is set not to push too much. The abnormal display in Steps 886, 1186, and 1386 is displayed when the fork member 7 determines that the paper sheet 12 is pushed too much on the separation surface. For example, an indicator lamp or the like can be used. This is to notify the worker by turning on the light.

[0089]

As is apparent from the above detailed description,
ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the improvement which can reduce generation | occurrence | production of the misfeed largely by eliminating the feeding mistake of the bundle of sheets to be isolate | separated which arises without the drive of a fork keeping up. It is possible to provide a paper sheet separation mechanism and a method thereof, and further, by using such an improved paper sheet separation mechanism in an automatic machine that handles paper sheets, the processing capacity thereof is significantly improved, As a result, it is possible to provide an automatic sheet sorting apparatus capable of improving the work efficiency, which is extremely advantageous in terms of technology.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing a configuration of a control circuit of a sheet feeding means of a sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of a route assembling / sorting machine using the paper sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is an overall configuration diagram of a route assembling / sorting machine using the paper sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is an overall configuration diagram of a paper sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a paper sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart for explaining a first operation of the control circuit of the sheet feeding means of the sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 7 is a flowchart for explaining a second operation of the control circuit of the sheet feeding means of the sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a flowchart for explaining a third operation of the control circuit of the sheet feeding means of the sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart for explaining a fourth operation of the control circuit of the sheet feeding means of the sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart for explaining a fifth operation of the control circuit of the sheet feeding means of the sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart for explaining a sixth operation of the control circuit of the sheet feeding means of the sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart for explaining a seventh operation of the control circuit of the paper sheet feeding means of the paper sheet separation mechanism of the present invention.

FIG. 13 is a flowchart for explaining an eighth operation of the control circuit of the sheet feeding means of the sheet separating mechanism of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Main chamber 2 Subchamber 3 Blow-out nozzle 4, 101c Suction belt 5, 102 Hopper 6 Projection for paper sheet deformation 7, 101a Fork member 8 Paper sheet arrival detection means 9 Paper sheet passage detection means 10 Thickness detection means 11 Suction hole detecting means 12 Sheets 12a First sheet 12b Second sheet 13 Sheet feeding means drive control unit 14 Sheet feeding means driving motor 15 Sheet detecting means in hopper 16 Other transport state detecting means 1a Suction surface 1b, 2a, 4a Suction hole 3a Blow-out hole 100 Route assembling machine 101 Separating means 101b Belt 102b Guide surface, 103, 103a Transport means 104 Drive source 105 Positioning device 105a Detection sensor 106 Reading Means 107 Sectional shelves 108, 109 Reject boxes 110, 110a, 110b 111 subframe 112 wire 113 pulley 114 mainframe 115 motor 116 bottom plate

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Kazushi Yoshida 502 Kandachicho, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Pref. Machinery Research Laboratory, Hitachi, Ltd. (72) Inventor Toshihiko Tajiri 1-Ikegami, Haraoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Prefecture Hitachi, Ltd. Office Systems Division, Applied Systems Division (56) References JP-A-1-150636 (JP, A) JP-A 50-38073 (JP, U) JP-A 60-193282 (JP, U) (58) Survey Field (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 1/14 320 B07C 1/16 B65H 3/12 310 B65H 7/04 B65H 7/12

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. An apparatus for separating bundles of paper sheets one by one, comprising: a hopper for storing paper sheets to be separated; and a bundle of paper sheets stored in the hopper. A sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet in a state, a driving means for driving the sheet feeding means, and a sheet fed from the sheet feeding means in the form of a bundle to the suction belt one by one. Separating means for separating and sending the separated sheets, sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether or not a bundle of sheets has reached the separating means, and sheet separation after separation by the separating means. A sheet passage detecting means for detecting passage, and a drive for driving the sheet feeding means based on a detection signal from the sheet arrival detecting means and a detection signal from the sheet passage detecting means. And a control unit for controlling the means. The control unit, wherein the sheet arrival detecting means is a sheet When the arrival of the paper sheet is not detected, the paper sheet feeding means is operated so as to continuously feed the paper sheet toward the separating means, and the paper sheet arrival detecting means detects the arrival of the paper sheet. And when the sheet passage detecting means does not detect the passage of the sheet, the operation of the sheet feeding means is stopped so that the sheet is not sent to the separating means. When the sheet arrival detecting means detects arrival of the sheet and the sheet passage detecting means detects the passage of the sheet, the sheet is moved toward the separating means. A sheet separating apparatus characterized in that said sheet feeding means is operated so as to stop after feeding a predetermined distance. 2. An apparatus for separating bundled sheets one by one, comprising: a hopper for storing sheets for separation; and a sheet for storing sheets stored in the hopper in a bundle. A sheet feeding means for feeding the sheet in a state, a driving means for driving the sheet feeding means, and a sheet fed from the sheet feeding means in the form of a bundle to the suction belt one by one. Separating means for separating and sending the separated sheets, sheet arrival detecting means for detecting whether or not a bundle of sheets has reached the separating means, and sheet separation after separation by the separating means. A sheet passage detecting means for detecting passage, a thickness detecting means for detecting the thickness of the sheet after separation by the separating means, and a position defined on the suction belt of the separating means for moving the suction belt. With this, it is detected whether or not it has passed the fixed position set on the separating means, and the suction of the separating means is performed. Belt operation detecting means for detecting whether the belt is moving, a detection signal from the sheet arrival detecting means, a detection signal from the belt operation detecting means, a detection signal from the thickness detecting means, and a sheet A control unit that controls the driving unit for driving the paper sheet feeding unit based on a detection signal from the passage detection unit, wherein the control unit is configured to: When the arrival of the paper sheet is not detected, the paper sheet feeding means is operated so that the paper sheet is continuously sent toward the separating means, and the paper sheet arrival detecting means detects the arrival of the paper sheet. When detecting and the belt operation detecting means does not detect the movement of the suction belt, the operation of the paper sheet feeding means is stopped so that paper sheets are not sent toward the separating means, The sheet arrival detection means detects the arrival of the sheet When the belt operation detecting means detects the movement of the suction belt, and the paper sheet passage detecting means detects the passage of the paper sheet, the paper detected by the thickness detecting means is detected. The sheet feeding means is operated so that the sheet in the hopper is stopped after the sheet in the hopper is sent toward the separating means by a distance corresponding to the thickness of the sheet, When the arrival of the leaves is detected, the belt operation detecting means detects the movement of the suction belt, and the paper sheet passage detecting means does not detect the passage of the paper sheets, When the belt operation detecting means continuously detects the movement of the suction belt a plurality of times, the paper sheet feeding means stops so that the sheet is stopped after being sent by a predetermined distance toward the separating operation means. Paper sheets characterized by being operated Separation device.