JP3243042B2 - Transfer device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to, for example, a bill processing apparatus for sorting bills into denominations and counting them.
The present invention relates to a transport device that transports sheets one by one.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art For example, a banknote handling apparatus for sorting and counting banknotes according to denominations, feeds and transports banknotes stacked in a banknote supply unit for feeding banknotes one by one, and places the banknotes on a banknote transport path. After the inspection unit provided determines the denomination, damage, front and back, etc., the sorting unit sorts by denomination, counts each, and stores it in the accumulation unit for each denomination, damage, front and back. ing.

[0003]

However, if the bills separated and conveyed one by one in the bill supply unit have a large inclination, the bills cannot be discriminated by the inspection unit, mis-sorting by the sorting unit, and accumulation. Often, there was a failure in integration in the department.

Conventionally, to reduce these problems,
By adjusting the bill supply unit delicately, the inclination of the bills was suppressed to a certain level.However, due to the delicate difference in the frictional force between the bills and the variation in the frictional force of the conveyor belt formed of rubber, etc. It has not been possible to solve the problem that bills are conveyed in an inclined manner, which has been a cause of lowering the performance of the apparatus.

In order to solve such a problem, a transport device having a control means for detecting the inclination of a conveyed bill and correcting and controlling the inclination of the conveyed bill has recently been considered. .

[0006] However, in the transport device provided with the means for controlling the inclination of the banknote, a tilt adjustment (tilt correction control) is not performed when the banknote inclination is larger than the controllable amount. For this reason, there is an adverse effect that a jam or the like occurs in the subsequent transport path.

Therefore, according to the present invention, even when the adjustment amount of the inclination of the paper sheet exceeds the controllable amount, the paper sheet can be brought close to a good conveyance state, and the performance of the apparatus is further improved. An object is to provide a transport device.

[0008]

According to the present invention, at least two or more belt-like transport means are provided side by side at predetermined intervals and transport paper sheets while supporting both ends thereof. A driving unit for driving each of the transporting units, and a detecting unit for detecting at least two or more of the transported sheets at a predetermined position of the transporting unit in a direction orthogonal to the transporting direction of the papers. ,-out based on the output signal of the detection means
Measuring means for measuring the inclination of the front SL paper sheet, and calculating means for calculating the amount to be controlled to correct the inclination of the paper sheet based on the measurement result of the measuring means, the control calculated by the calculating means Determining means for determining whether or not the amount to be controlled is within a predetermined controllable amount range; and when the determining means determines that the amount to be controlled is within the controllable amount range, the control calculated by the calculating means is performed. Controlling the driving means according to the power amount,
A control unit for controlling the driving unit according to the predetermined controllable amount when it is determined that the controllable amount is out of the range.

[0009] Further, the conveying device of the present invention is provided side by side at predetermined intervals, and at least two or more belt-shaped conveying means for conveying the paper sheet while supporting both ends thereof, and A fixed speed motor for driving one of the conveying means at a constant speed, a variable speed motor for driving the other of the conveying means at a variable speed, and conveyance of the paper sheet at a predetermined position of the conveying means. juxtaposed at least two in the direction orthogonal to the direction, detecting means for detecting the paper sheet to be conveyed, measuring means for measuring the inclination of the based-out before Symbol paper sheet to the output signal of the detection means Calculating means for calculating an amount to be controlled that corrects the inclination of the sheet based on the measurement result of the measuring means; and the amount to be controlled calculated by the calculating means is a predetermined controllable amount. Judgment to determine whether it is within the range And when the determination means determines that the rotation speed is within the range of the controllable amount, the rotation speed of the variable speed motor is controlled in accordance with the amount to be controlled calculated by the calculation means, A control means for controlling the rotation speed of the variable speed motor according to the predetermined controllable amount when it is determined to be outside.

[0010]

According to the present invention, if the amount to be corrected for correcting the sheet inclination calculated based on the sheet inclination is out of the range of the predetermined controllable amount, the predetermined amount is controlled. When the adjustment amount of the inclination of the sheet exceeds the controllable amount by controlling the rotation speed of the motor that drives the conveying means according to the controllable amount (the maximum value that can be controlled). However, the paper sheets can be brought close to a favorable transport state.

[0011]

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 3 schematically shows a bill processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied. That is, the bill supply unit 20
Are separated one by one by the feeding mechanism 21 and sequentially fed, and are sent to the transport device 22 according to the present invention at an interval of substantially one bill. Transfer device 2
The banknotes P conveyed in the inspection section 2 pass through the conveyance path 23.
4, where a denomination determination and a fitness determination are performed.

The bill P determined by the inspection unit 24 is sent to the sorting unit 26 via the transport path 25. Sorting unit 26
Sorts the conveyed banknotes P by denomination according to the denomination judgment result of the inspection unit 24,
29 and 30 are accumulated by denomination.

In such a bill processing apparatus, the feeding mechanism 2 is controlled by control means (not shown) according to the bill processing contents.
1, transport device 22, transport path 23, inspection unit 24, transport path 2
5, the operations of the distribution unit 26, the stacking unit 27, and the like are controlled.

By the way, usually, in the above-mentioned bill processing apparatus,
The processing is performed in a very short time (for example, about 10 sheets per second), and the speed of the transported banknote P is, for example, 16
The speed is as high as 00 mm / s.

In such a bill processing apparatus, it is desired that bills separated and conveyed are not tilted and conveyed at regular intervals. Because banknotes are tilted and transported (skew)
In such a case, it is difficult to perform a pattern matching process such as printing of banknotes performed by the inspection unit. Further, when the sheet is greatly inclined, there is a limit in the transfer width of the transfer device, which causes a problem that the transfer cannot be performed.

However, it is very difficult to accurately separate and convey banknotes one by one. Particularly, when new and old banknotes are mixed and accumulated, accurate separation and conveyance are required due to a difference in friction count. Problem that could not be done. As a result, banknotes are skewed, and often cause trouble. Therefore, in the transport device 22 according to the present invention, by using the means described below,
It solves those problems.

FIGS. 1 and 2 show a transfer device 22 according to the present invention.
Is shown in detail. In the figure, endless drive belts 2a and 2b as belt-like transport means are arranged side by side at predetermined intervals, and are stretched between rotatable rollers 8a and 8b and 11a and 11b, respectively. Endless driven belts 1a, 1b as other belt-shaped transport means
Are arranged side by side in contact with the drive belts 2a and 2b, respectively, and are stretched between rotatable rollers 10a and 10b and drive rollers 6a and 6b, respectively. As a result, the bill P is sandwiched between the drive belts 2a and 2b and the driven belts 1a and 1b, and is conveyed in the direction indicated by the arrow. The rotatable rollers 9a and 9b are for supporting the intermediate portions of the belts 2a, 2b, 1a and 1b.

The drive roller 6a is driven at an arbitrary speed in an arbitrary direction by a pulse motor 7a and a control unit to be described later, and is capable of changing its speed over time. The driving roller 6b is also driven by a pulse motor 7b and a control unit to be described later. Since the pulse motor 7b is used for other conveyance in this embodiment, the speed and the rotation direction are unchanged. It is.

The drive belts 2a and 2b are
a and 6b, the driven belts 1a and 1b are moved by the friction by the friction between the driven belts 1a and 1b, respectively.
It operates following b.

Accordingly, since the drive belts 2a and 2b are driven independently, the inclination of the bills P sandwiched between the belts 1a and 2a and between the belts 1b and 2b is changed (corrected) due to the difference in drive speed. It is possible to do.

The left and right conveyor belts (1a, 2a, 1
If there is a speed difference between b and 2b), the sandwiched banknote P seems to be bent because of its low rigidity.
As a result of the experiment, if the rigidity is about the same as that of a banknote, no deflection occurs, and only the inclination changes while maintaining the rectangular state due to a subtle slip in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction of the left and right transport belts. It is possible to do.

Phototransistors 3a and 4a, which are non-contact sensors 3 and 4 as detecting means for detecting the passage of the bill P, are provided at predetermined positions of the transporting device 22 having such a configuration, for example, near the starting end. In addition, infrared light emitting diodes 3b and 4b serving as light sources are arranged at predetermined intervals in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the banknote P. These sensors 3 and 4
As described later, the inclination of the banknote P is measured based on the respective output signals.

FIG. 4 schematically shows an electric circuit of the transfer device 22 configured as described above. That is,
The output signals of the sensors 3 and 4 are sent to the control unit 41, respectively. The control unit 41 measures the inclination of the banknote P at the position of each of the sensors 3 and 4 based on the output signals of the sensors 3 and 4, as will be described in detail later. Calculation of the amount to be controlled for correcting the inclination of the banknote P, which will be described in detail, and determination as to whether or not the calculated amount to be controlled is within a predetermined controllable amount is performed. Drive circuits 42 and 43 based on
The drive of each of the pulse motors 7a and 7b is controlled via the.

Next, the operation of the transfer device 22 in such a configuration will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. First, CW direction (clockwise) and CC
The number of times the skew can be corrected in both the W direction (counterclockwise) (hereinafter referred to as a controllable amount) depends on, for example, the performance that the pulse motors 7a and 7b can output, the dimensions of the apparatus, and the conveyance. It is determined from the speed and the like, and is set and stored in a storage unit (not shown) in the control unit 41.

Next, it is assumed that the banknote P conveyed from the preceding conveyance unit (for example, the feeding mechanism 21) is skewed at an angle as shown in FIG. The banknotes P are driven at a constant speed at a speed similar to that of the preceding-stage transport unit. The belts 2a, 2b, 1a, 1
6B, the banknote P blocks the sensor 4 when it reaches the position shown in FIG. Further, when transported at a constant speed, FIG.
And the sensor 3 is also blocked.

The control unit 41 which has received the output signals of the sensors 3 and 4 measures the time from the state shown in FIG. 6 to the state shown in FIG.
The skew amount and the direction of the skew of the banknote P are calculated from the distance between the optical axes, and the skew measurement value is determined. At this time, the direction of the skew is represented by a sign. For example, the CCW direction (counterclockwise) is a positive skew, and the CW direction (clockwise) is a negative skew. Therefore, the skew in FIGS. 6 and 7 is a positive amount.

Next, from the skew target value having the same sign with respect to the direction, the control unit 41 controls the drive roller 6b on the right side in the transport direction moving at a constant speed within a certain time, and the left side in the transport direction. It should be determined how much the drive roller 6a should be moved (the amount to be controlled). For example,
If the skew measurement value is 10 °, the target value is −10 °, and the optical axis interval between the sensors 3 and 4 is 80 mm, the CW direction needs to be corrected, and 80 × tan {10 ° − (− 10 °)} = 2.
9.12 mm. This is compared with the controllable amount set and stored in advance, and if it exceeds the controllable amount, the amount to be controlled is replaced with the controllable amount.

Next, how the motor speed of the left driving roller 6a is changed with time will be described in detail. In this case, for the following three reasons, as shown in FIG. 8, it is appropriate to ramp up from the start of correction to the midpoint between the start and end, and ramp down until the end. (1) If the acceleration is large, a large load is applied to the pulse motor, so it is necessary to reduce the acceleration as much as possible. (2) Before and after the skew correction, the speed must be a steady speed (right speed). (3) The control is easier when the absolute value of the acceleration is constant. For example, the time required for skew correction is 31.25 m.
s, assuming a steady speed of 1600 mm, the maximum speed at the midpoint is 29.12 × 2 ÷ 31.25 × 1000 + 1600 = 3
464 mm / s. Therefore, a target value can be obtained by changing the speed on the left side with respect to the time as shown in FIG.

Conversely, as shown in FIG. 9, when correction in the CCW direction is desired, if the correction is performed in the same manner as in the CW direction, the speed may gradually approach zero on the way as shown in FIG. Changes in speed over time take several variants, as control becomes difficult. For some ramp down,
Since the pulse motor follows, the speed is changed at the same time at the start of correction in any case.

FIG. 11 shows a speed curve of the pulse motor.
Each shaded portion in the figure represents the distance of the delay on the left side with respect to the right side, so that the acceleration is minimized according to the magnitude of the delay distance obtained from the measured and calculated skew values,
(A), (b), and (c) are selectively used. (A) In the figure, after decelerating to a certain speed at the start of correction, it ramps up to a steady speed. (B) In the figure, the speed is set to zero at the start of correction, and after a certain period of time, ramps up to a steady speed. In FIG. 3C, the speed is set to zero at the start of correction, then ramped up in the opposite direction, the speed is set to zero again at a certain time, and thereafter the same control as in FIG.

Judging from the skew measurement value in any of the corrections in the CW direction and the CCW direction, if an excessive load is applied to the pulse motor during the correction (excessive acceleration), it is within a possible range. Make maximum modifications.

In the above description, the pulse motor 7b on one side (right side) has been described as being fixed in speed, but both sides (right side, left side) may be variable in speed. For example, when it is desired to correct in the CW direction, the above-described control is performed on the left side, and the control for correcting in the CCW direction is performed on the right side. In this case, since the acceleration of the pulse motor is smaller than in the case where the speed on one side is fixed, there is an advantage that the load applied to the pulse motor is reduced.

The transfer device 2 configured as described above
3 is disposed immediately after the feeding mechanism 21 as shown in FIG. 3, the inclination of the banknote P generated by the feeding mechanism 21 is corrected immediately thereafter by the transport device 22 according to the present invention, and the subsequent transport path 23 By supplying the banknotes P to the inspection unit 24 and the like, it is possible to reduce problems associated with the banknote separation and supply by the feeding mechanism 21.

In the above embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a banknote handling machine such as a banknote sorter has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, the present invention may be applied to a bill processing unit of an automatic processing device.

In the above-described embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to a banknote processing apparatus has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to this. For example, a processing apparatus for securities other than banknotes, postal matter, forms, etc. The present invention can be similarly applied to the transfer device of the above.

[0037]

As described above in detail, according to the transport apparatus of the present invention, the amount to be controlled for correcting the sheet inclination calculated based on the sheet inclination is a predetermined controllable amount. Is out of the range, by controlling the rotation speed of the motor for driving the conveying means according to a predetermined controllable amount (the maximum controllable value), the inclination of the paper sheet is controlled. Even when the adjustment amount exceeds the controllable amount, it is possible to provide a transport device in which the sheets can be brought close to a favorable transport state, and the performance of the device is further improved.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a transport device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIGS. 2A and 2B are a plan view and a side view illustrating a configuration of a transfer device. FIGS.

FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram schematically showing a bill processing device.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram schematically showing an electric circuit.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a control flow of the motor. The flowchart figure which shows the flow at the time of performing a some control.

FIG. 6 is a view for explaining detection of inclination of a bill.

FIG. 7 is a view for explaining detection of inclination of a banknote.

FIG. 8 is a speed curve diagram of a pulse motor.

FIG. 9 is a diagram illustrating correction of the inclination of a banknote.

FIG. 10 is a speed curve diagram of a pulse motor.

FIG. 11 is a speed curve diagram of a pulse motor.

[Explanation of symbols]

P: Banknotes (sheets) 1a, 1b: Driven belt (band-shaped transport unit) 2a, 2b: Drive belt (band-shaped transport unit) 3, 4: Sensor (detection unit) 6a, 6b Driving rollers 7a, 7b... Pulse motors 8a, 8b, 9a. 9b, 10a, 10b, 11a, 1
1b Roller 22 Transfer device 41 Control unit (measurement unit, calculation unit, determination unit, control unit) 42, 43 Drive circuit

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on the front page (58) Field surveyed (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65H 7/08 B65H 9/00 G07D 9/00 416

Claims (2)

(57) [Claims] 1. At least two or more belt-shaped transporting means which are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval and transport paper sheets while supporting both end portions thereof, a driving means for driving each of the transporting means, juxtaposed at least two in the direction orthogonal to the conveying direction of the paper sheet at a predetermined position of the transfer means, detecting means for detecting the paper sheet to be conveyed,-out based on the output signal of the detection means measuring means for measuring the inclination of the front SL paper sheet, and calculating means for calculating the amount to be controlled to correct the inclination of the paper sheet based on the measurement result of the measuring means, the control calculated by the calculating means Determining means for determining whether or not the amount to be controlled is within a predetermined controllable amount; and when the determining means determines that the amount is within the controllable amount, the control calculated by the calculating means is performed. Controlling the driving means according to the power amount , When it is determined that the outside of the controllable amount, conveying apparatus characterized by comprising a control means for controlling said drive means in accordance with a controllable amount of said predetermined. 2. At least two or more belt-shaped transporting means which are arranged side by side at predetermined intervals and transport paper sheets while supporting both ends thereof; A speed-fixed motor driven at a speed, a speed-variable motor that drives the other of the transporting units at a variable speed, and at least a direction orthogonal to the transporting direction of the sheet at a predetermined position of the transporting unit. are two or more parallel, detecting means for detecting the paper sheet to be conveyed, a measuring means for measuring the inclination of the based-out before Symbol paper sheet to the output signal of the detecting means, the measurement of the measuring means Calculating means for calculating an amount to be controlled for correcting the inclination of the sheet based on the result; and determining whether or not the amount to be controlled calculated by the calculating means is within a predetermined controllable amount range. Determining means for performing the determination, and the determining means When it is determined that it is within the range of the controllable amount, it controls the rotation speed of the variable speed motor according to the amount to be controlled calculated by the calculating means, and when it is determined that it is outside the range of the controllable amount, , conveying device being characterized in that comprising a control means for controlling the rotational speed of the variable speed motor in response to the controllable amount of the predetermined.