JP3680062B2 - Paper sheet stacking device - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a paper sheet stacking apparatus used in, for example, an optical character reader or an optical image reader.
[0002]
[Prior art]
In an optical character reader or the like, a hopper for loading paper sheets is provided, and the paper sheets are taken out one by one from the hopper and conveyed to a reading unit in the apparatus main body. Then, after the reading information of the paper sheets is read by the reading unit, the paper sheets are conveyed to the stacking unit and stacked.
[0003]
By the way, in this optical character reader or the like, there is a case where information written in a medical receipt is read as a paper sheet. When the description is full, additional receipts are affixed in order and used. The number of additional receptors to be applied varies depending on the object, but it increases as the dosing period increases, and is usually folded.
[0004]
At the time of reading a so-called long receipt in which a number of such additional receipts are attached, the additional receipt is stretched and fed from the hopper manually to read the description. Then, after the description items are read, they are accumulated in a long-sized accumulation unit different from a normal-size receptor (for example, see Patent Document 1).
[0005]
[Patent Document 1]
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 8-324866
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the long dedicated stacking unit, since the long receipts that have been fed are simply collected by the natural drop method, they are collected with creases. For this reason, there has been a problem that the leading end of the subsequent long receptor sinks into the rear end portion of the previously accumulated long receptor and the stacking order is shifted or a jam occurs due to contact.
[0007]
The present invention has been made paying attention to the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet stacking device that corrects the folding of paper sheets so that they can be stacked well. To do.
[0008]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to solve the above-described problems, the present invention is directed to a stacking unit that stacks paper sheets that are fed in, and an upper surface side of the paper sheets that are fed into the stacking unit, toward the back side in the feeding direction. A conveying means for conveying, a negative pressure applying means for applying a negative pressure to the paper sheet conveyed by the conveying means and adsorbing it to the conveying means, and being adsorbed by the conveying means and conveyed to the back side in the feeding direction Holding means for holding the back end of the paper sheet, and after the back end of the paper sheet is held by the holding means, the transport means is operated in the reverse direction to And a control means for releasing the negative pressure applied by the negative pressure applying means to the paper sheets after a predetermined amount is conveyed in the reverse direction.
[0009]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an internal configuration of a paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and this paper sheet processing apparatus includes an optical reading device 1 and a sorter device 2. FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the optical reader 1.
[0010]
The reading apparatus 1 has an apparatus main body 3, and a hopper table 4 as a mounting portion is provided on one side upper side of the apparatus main body 3. On the hopper table 4, a large number of medical receipts 6 of various sizes as paper sheets are placed in an upright state. The receptor 6 is placed in an inclined state so that its upper end side is inclined rearward.
[0011]
On the hopper table 4, a guide body 5 that supports the receptor 6 is provided slidably along the delivery direction of the receptor 6. A first feeder section 7 for feeding the receptor 6 into the apparatus main body 3 is provided on the delivery side of the receptor 6 of the hopper table 4. The first feeder unit 7 includes a pickup roller 8, a delivery roller 9, and a separation roller 10. Further, the hopper table 4 is provided with a detection switch 61a as a first determination means for determining the presence or absence of the receptor 6. The hopper table 4 and the first feeder unit 7 constitute a first paper feeding unit 11 as a first paper feeding unit.
[0012]
On the upper side in the apparatus main body 3, a main conveyance path 12 that conveys the receptor 6 sent out from the first feeder unit 7 is provided. A large number of transport roller pairs 13, detection sensors 14, and the like are arranged in the main transport path 12 over the transport direction of the receptor 6.
[0013]
In addition, a manual paper feed unit 17 as a second paper feed unit for manually feeding a long-size receptor (long paper sheet) to be described later is provided on the upper surface of the apparatus main body 3. The manual paper feed unit 17 includes an inclined hopper 21 on which a manually inserted long receptor is placed, and a guide path 18 that guides the placed long receptor toward the main transport path 12. The inclined hopper 21 is provided with a detection switch 20 as a second discriminating unit for discriminating the presence or absence of a manually inserted long receptor. A paper feed roller pair 19 is provided in the guide path 18 as a second feeder section.
[0014]
A reading unit 22 that optically reads information recorded in the receipt is provided on the downstream side in the receipt conveyance direction of the junction between the guide path 18 and the main conveyance path 12. The reading unit 22 receives a pair of illumination lamps 23 and 24 that irradiate light to the receptor, first and second reflecting mirrors 26 and 27 that guide light reflected from the receptor in a predetermined direction, and receives the reflected light. And a light receiving sensor 28 for reading information. A numbering 29 for recording a number on the receipt is provided on the downstream side of the reading unit 22 in the receipt conveyance direction.
[0015]
The terminal end side of the main transport path 12 in the receipt transport direction is bent approximately 90 degrees downward along the inner surface of the apparatus body 3 and connected to the transport path 31 of the sorter apparatus 2.
The first and second branch conveyance paths 33 and 34 are connected to a portion bent substantially 90 degrees below the main conveyance path 12, and the first and second branch conveyances are received near the connection portion. First and second branch gates 36 and 37 for selectively guiding the paths 33 and 34 are provided.
[0016]
The first branch transport path 33 is provided horizontally along the main transport path 12, and a plurality of transport roller pairs 40 and detection sensors 41 are arranged in the first branch transport path 33 across the transport direction of the receptor. Has been. A stacking device 43 for stacking, for example, A3 size receptors is provided below the first branch transport path 33. The stacking device 43 includes a plurality of stacking units 43 a to 43 c arranged along the first branch transport path 33 with a predetermined interval.
[0017]
The first branch conveyance path 33 and the plurality of stacking units 43a to 43c are connected via guide paths 44a to 44c. Branch gates 45a and 45b are provided in the vicinity of the connecting portion between the first branch conveyance path 33 and the guide paths 44a and 44b, and the reception is selectively performed by turning the branch gates 45a and 45b. 43c is guided and accumulated.
[0018]
The second branch conveyance path 34 extends obliquely downward, and is connected to the long stacking device 51. A plurality of pairs of conveyance rollers 47 and detection sensors 48 are arranged in the second branch conveyance path 34 in the receipt conveyance direction. The long stacking device 51 is provided horizontally along the lower side of the stacking units 43a to 43c. The accumulation device 51 will be described in detail later.
[0019]
On the other hand, the sorter device 2 described above is provided adjacent to the other side surface of the optical reader 1. The sorter device 2 includes a plurality of trays 53 arranged in the vertical direction, and for example, A4 size receptors are separately stored in these trays 53. As described above, the sorter device 2 has the conveyance path 31 connected to the terminal end of the main conveyance path 12 of the optical reading apparatus 1, and this conveyance path 31 is constituted by the horizontal conveyance path 31a and the vertical conveyance path 31b. ing. A plurality of transport roller pairs 55 are arranged in the horizontal transport path 31a and the vertical transport path 31b with a predetermined interval in the transport direction of the receipt. The vertical conveyance path 31b and the plurality of trays 53 are connected via a plurality of branch guide paths 57.
[0020]
Next, the receipt processing operation will be described.
First, a large number of receptors 6 are placed on the hopper table 4 in a standing position, and the first feeder unit 7 is operated. As a result, the pickup roller 8, the delivery roller 9 and the separation roller 10 are rotated, and the receptors 6 are separated one by one and sent out to the main conveyance path 12. The receptor 6 is nipped and conveyed along the main conveyance path 12 by the rotation of the conveyance roller pairs 13. Then, the size of the receptor 6 is detected by the detection sensor 14 during the conveyance, and after this detection, information is optically read by the reading unit 22. After this reading, the receipt 6 is further conveyed and sent to the numbering 29 where the number is recorded.
[0021]
When the size of the receipt 6 on which the number is recorded is, for example, A4 size, it is transported along the main transport path 12 and then sent to the transport path 31 of the sorter device 2. The receptor 6 sent to the transport path 31 is transported along the horizontal transport path 31a, then transported upward along the vertical transport path 31b, and a plurality of trays via a plurality of branch guide paths 57. 53 ... are collected on top of each other.
[0022]
Further, when the size of the receptor 6 is, for example, A3 size, it is sent to the first branch transport path 33 by the operation of the first branch gate 36 without being sent to the sorter device 2, and the stacking device 43 are accumulated in the respective accumulation units 43a to 43c.
Further, when the receipt 6 is long (for example, 1 m in length) manually fed from the manual paper feeding unit 17, the second branch gate 37 is operated to send it to the second branch conveyance path 34. And accumulated in the long accumulation device 51.
[0023]
By the way, the above-described long stacking device 51 is configured as shown in FIG. 3, and the stacking device 51 is configured to stack the long receptor 6a fed from the manual sheet feeding unit 17 described above. It has become.
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 4, the long receipt 6a is composed of a main slip 6b and a follower (additional receipt) 6c that is sequentially affixed to the main slip 6b. When this long receipt 6a is full of items described in the slip 6b, the continuous paper 6c is attached in order.
[0025]
However, there are several pasting patterns of the continuous paper 6c, and those relating to the present invention are of the type in which the continuous paper 6c is pasted one after another, and the broken line portion in the figure is the glued portion 6d. As shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6, this type of long receptor 6a is usually folded in a stencil 6c, and the number of stencils 6c applied varies depending on the type, but increases as the dosing period increases.
[0026]
The stacking device 51 has a stacking unit 61, and transport mechanisms 62 a and 62 b are disposed in the upper surface opening of the stacking unit 61. The transport mechanisms 62a and 62b are configured by a transport belt 64 being stretched between rollers 63. The conveyor belt 64 is arranged in parallel with three (only one is shown) at a predetermined interval in the width direction.
[0027]
Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the transport mechanisms 62a and 62b have a total of nine fans 65 (only three are shown) serving as negative pressure applying means for each transport belt 64 in the transport direction. It is installed. Each fan 65 is selectively used according to the required negative pressure.
[0028]
Due to the negative pressure generated by the rotation of the fan 65, the long receptor 6a is sucked and held on the lower surface of the conveyor belt 64. The long receptor 6 a is released from the conveyance belt 64 after being sucked and held by the rotation of the fan 65 being stopped.
[0029]
As the negative pressure applying means, as shown in FIG. 8, a fan 66 that rotates in the forward and reverse directions is disposed, and when the long receptor 6 a is dropped from the conveyor belt 64, the fan 66 is rotated in the reverse direction and forced. Alternatively, the long receptor 6a may be dropped.
[0030]
Further, in addition to the fan 65, a downward fan that blows the wind downward may be added, and the long receptor 6a may be forcibly dropped from the conveyor belt 64 by the rotation of the fan.
[0031]
Returning to FIG. 3, on the carry-out side of the transport mechanism 62 b, the guide guide 67 that guides the distal end side of the long receptor 6 a obliquely downward and the distal end portion of the receptor 6 a that is guided along the guide guide 67 are pressed. Holding means 69 for holding is provided.
[0032]
Further, an inlet sensor 70 for detecting the incoming long receptor 6a is provided on the inlet side of the stacking unit 61, and a rear sensor for detecting the tip of the long receptor 6a on the back side of the stacking unit 61. 71 is provided.
[0033]
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a drive mechanism of the holding means 69.
[0034]
A plurality of holding means 69 are provided in the width direction of the long receptor 6 a and have holding arms 72. These holding arms 72 are formed of a high friction material and are attached to a shaft 73. An arm drive motor 75 is connected to one end of the shaft 73. A detection plate 77 is attached to the shaft 73, and the detection plate 77 is detected by an arm position detection sensor 78 provided in the vicinity of the shaft 73.
[0035]
The holding arm 72 is rotated 90 degrees in the forward and reverse directions by the drive of the arm drive motor 75 to be in a horizontal state or an upright state, and by being in the horizontal state, the front end of the long receptor 6a is pressed and held to be in an upright state. As a result, the pressing and holding of the tip of the long receptor 6a is released.
[0036]
FIG. 11 is a block diagram showing a drive control system for the conveying belt 64, the fan 65, and the holding arm 72 described above.
The inlet sensor 70, the back side sensor 71, and the arm position detection sensor 78 of the stacking unit 61 are connected to a control device 81 as a control means via a signal transmission circuit. A belt drive motor 82, an arm drive motor 75, and a fan drive motor 83 are connected to the control device 81 via a control circuit.
[0037]
When a receipt detection signal from the inlet sensor 70 is transmitted to the control device 81, the belt drive motor 82 is driven and the conveyor belt 64 is run so as to convey the long receptor 6a toward the back side of the stacking unit 61. At the same time, the fan driving motor 83 is driven to rotate the fan 65.
[0038]
Further, when a receipt detection signal is transmitted from the back sensor 71 to the control device 81, the arm driving motor 75 is driven to rotate the holding arm 72 in a horizontal state so as to press and hold the tip of the long receptor 6a. It has become.
[0039]
When a signal indicating that the detection plate 77 is not detected from the arm position detection sensor 78, that is, a signal for detecting that the tip of the receptor 6 a is pressed and held by the holding arm 72 by the holding arm 72 is transmitted to the control device 81. The belt drive motor 82 is driven in the reverse direction, and the conveyor belt 64 is caused to travel so that the long receptor 6a is conveyed toward the entrance of the stacking unit 61, and the belt drive motor 82 is driven in the reverse direction for a predetermined time. Then, the drive of the fan drive motor 83 is stopped.
[0040]
Next, the stacking operation of the long receptors 6a will be described with reference to FIGS.
After the long receptor 6a is transported along the main transport path 12, it is transported along the second branch transport path 34 and sent to the long stacking unit 61 as shown in FIG. The long receptor 6a is detected by the inlet sensor 70, and based on this detection, the conveyor belt 64 travels and the fan 65 is rotated. As the fan 65 rotates, the wind in the accumulation unit 61 is blown upward as indicated by an arrow, and the long receptor 6a is sucked upward by the wind pressure and is attracted to the lower surface of the transport belt 64. The long receptor 6 a is transported toward the back side of the stacking unit 61 by the travel of the transport belt 64. When the tip of the long receptor 6a reaches the back side of the stacking portion 61, it is guided toward the lower right of the stacking portion 61 by a guide guide 67 as shown in FIG. When the tip of the long receptor 6a is detected by the back sensor 71, as shown in FIG. 14, the holding arm 72 is rotated downward from the standing state to press and hold the tip of the long receptor 6a. After that, as shown in FIG. 15, the conveyor belt 64 runs in the reverse direction, and the long receptor 6a is conveyed in the reverse direction while the crease is extended.
[0041]
As shown in FIG. 16, by this reverse conveyance, when the folds of the long receptor 6 a are corrected, the rotation of the fan 65 is stopped and the reverse running of the conveyance belt 64 is stopped. Accordingly, the long receptor 6a is dropped by its own weight and is accumulated in the accumulation unit 61. When accumulated in this way, the holding arm 72 is rotated upward to return to the initial position, and accumulation of the next long receptor 6a is started.
[0042]
As described above, according to this embodiment, the continuous sheet 6c of the long receptor 6a is stretched to correct its crease and then stacked on the stacking unit 61, so that the stacking order of the long receptors 6a is shifted. Good integration is possible without jamming.
[0043]
Further, since the fan 65 can be rotated in the reverse direction and the wind can be blown downward on the elongated long receptor 6a, the long receptor 6a can be forcibly dropped from the conveyor belt 64, and the integration time accordingly. Can be shortened.
[0044]
Further, since the holding arm 72 is formed of a high friction material, the holding force of the long receptor 6a is strong, and the holding can be surely performed.
Of course, the present invention can be variously modified within the scope of the gist thereof.
[0045]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to correct and fold paper sheets and to stack them properly without shifting the stacking order of the paper sheets or causing jamming.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall configuration diagram illustrating a paper sheet processing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an external perspective view showing the optical character reader according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram showing a long dedicated stacking unit according to the embodiment;
FIG. 4 is a plan view showing a long receptor read in the embodiment.
FIG. 5 is a plan view showing a state in which an additional receptor of the long receptor of FIG. 4 is folded.
6 is a perspective view showing a state in which an additional receptor of the long receptor of FIG. 4 is folded. FIG.
FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a state in which the receptor is adsorbed to the transport belt by the forward rotation of the fan according to the embodiment.
FIG. 8 is a perspective view showing a state in which the receptor is dropped from the conveyor belt by the reverse rotation of the fan of the embodiment.
FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing a state where the distal end of the receptor is held by the holding arm of the embodiment.
FIG. 10 is a perspective view showing a state where the holding of the distal end portion of the receptor by the holding arm of the embodiment is released.
FIG. 11 is an exemplary block diagram illustrating a drive control system for the conveyance belt, the holding arm, and the fan according to the embodiment;
FIG. 12 is a view showing a state in which the long receptor of the embodiment is conveyed toward the back of the stacking unit.
13 is a view showing a state in which the front end of the long receptor of FIG. 12 is guided toward the bottom of the stacking unit.
14 is a view showing a state in which the distal end of the long receptor in FIG. 13 is pressed and held by a pressing plate.
FIG. 15 is a view showing a state in which the elongate receptor of FIG. 14 is conveyed in the reverse direction with the tip held and the creases are corrected.
16 is a view showing a state in which the corrected long receptors of FIG. 15 are dropped and accumulated. FIG.
[Explanation of symbols]
6a ... long sheet (paper sheets), 6b ... this vote, 6c ... continuous paper, 61 ... stacking unit, 64 ... conveying belt (conveying means), 65 ... fan (negative pressure applying means), 66 ... fan, 69 ... holding means, 72 ... holding arm, 81 ... control device (control means).

Claims (4)

An accumulating unit for accumulating incoming paper sheets;
Conveying means for contacting the upper surface side of the paper sheets fed into the stacking unit and conveying the paper sheets toward the back side in the feeding direction;
A negative pressure applying means for applying a negative pressure to the paper sheet conveyed by the conveying means and adsorbing it to the conveying means;
Holding means for holding the back end of the paper sheet that has been attracted to the transport means and transported to the back side in the feeding direction;
After the rear end of the paper sheet is held by the holding means, the conveyance means is operated in the reverse direction to convey the paper sheet in the reverse direction by a predetermined amount, and then the negative force relative to the paper sheet is determined. A paper sheet stacking apparatus comprising: control means for releasing negative pressure applied by the pressure applying means. The negative pressure applying unit is a fan that rotates forward and backward, and the paper sheet is attracted to the transport unit by forward rotation of the fan, and the paper sheet is forcibly dropped from the transport unit by reverse rotation. The paper sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1. 2. The paper sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the holding means has a holding arm formed of a high friction material. The paper sheets are long receipts,
The paper sheet stacking apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the elongate receipt is configured to include a main slip and a continuous paper linked to the main slip.

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