JP4315332B2 - Single piece sheet sorting equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a single sheet sorting apparatus, and more particularly to an apparatus for sorting single sheet sheets sequentially conveyed along a conveyance path into individual sheet groups.

  In a processing machine for continuous paper or single piece paper, there is a process in which single piece paper sequentially conveyed along the conveyance path is divided into, for example, destinations and divided into individual piece groups having the same destination. In this case, in the prior art, a mark formed on the single-sheet paper sequentially conveyed along the first conveyance path is detected by the sensor, and the single-sheet paper located at the end of each single-sheet sheet group is the second conveyance path. By temporarily stopping the conveyance along the first conveyance path at the time of shifting to (1), a group of single sheet sheets discharged along the second conveyance path are obtained as divided single sheet groups.

  In another prior art, a mark formed on a single piece of paper that is sequentially conveyed along the first conveyance path is detected by a sensor, and for example, the single piece of paper that is located at the end of each single piece of paper group is the second one. At the time of transition to the transport path, the transport speed along the first transport path is temporarily reduced. Then, by inserting a slip sheet between the single piece paper located at the end of each single piece paper group and the single piece paper located at the beginning of the succeeding single piece sheet group, it is classified with the slip sheet as a mark. Each single sheet group is obtained.

  However, in the prior art in which the conveyance by the first conveyance path is temporarily stopped and the group of single-sheet sheets discharged along the second conveyance path is obtained as each divided single-sheet sheet group, the conveyance by the first conveyance path is performed. Since it stops intermittently, there is a disadvantage that the processing speed of the sorting is reduced.

  Further, in the conventional technology for obtaining each single sheet group divided by using the interleaf inserted between two single sheets as a mark, for example, a reel-like tape is sequentially cut to form an interleaf to be inserted. Therefore, there is a disadvantage that the sorting process must be interrupted when the interleaf paper tape is used up.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is a sorting apparatus that can quickly and separately divide single sheet sheets conveyed along a conveyance path into individual single sheet groups without interruption. The purpose is to provide.

In order to solve the above-described problem, in the present invention, the single-sheet sheets that are sequentially conveyed along the first conveyance path are classified into individual single-sheet groups in a second conveyance path that follows the first conveyance path. A device,
In order to stop the single sheet located at the head of each single sheet group from moving from the first transport path to the second transport path for a predetermined time, the leading end portion of the single sheet positioned at the top is A holding unit that holds the second conveyance path at a predetermined position above the second conveyance path;
The holding portion includes a rotation shaft having a rotation axis in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the second conveyance path, and a plate member attached to the rotation shaft.
The holding unit includes a first position that holds a leading end portion of the single-piece sheet positioned at the top at a predetermined position above the second conveyance path, and a single-piece sheet that is sequentially conveyed along the first conveyance path. The position of the plate member is switched between the second position to be transferred to the second transport path without stopping
The rotating shaft and the plate member are a pair of idler rollers provided so that the surfaces thereof are close to the transport surface of the second transport path with an interval in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the second transport path. is disposed between,
The pair of idle rollers have a feeding assist function along the conveying direction of the single sheet on the second conveying path,
The switching operation between the first position and the second position is an operation of rotating the plate member around the rotating shaft in the same direction as the rotating direction of the pair of idler rollers. Providing equipment.

By the preferred embodiment of the present invention lever, wherein a first mark detection for sequentially detecting a mark formed on a single piece sheets sequentially transported along the transport path portion in accordance with the output of the mark detecting unit further comprising a control unit for controlling the operation of the holding portion.

  In the present invention, a holding portion for holding the leading end portion of the single sheet located at the top of each single sheet group at a predetermined position above the second transport path is provided. It is possible to stop the single-piece sheet located in the position from moving from the first conveyance path to the second conveyance path for a predetermined time. As a result, it is possible to provide a partitioning space between the single piece sheet group that precedes the leading single piece sheet of each single piece sheet group and the subsequent single piece sheet group that should include the leading single piece sheet. Thus, according to the present invention, the single-piece sheets that are sequentially conveyed along the conveyance path can be quickly divided into the single-piece sheet groups without interruption.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a diagram schematically showing a configuration of a sorting apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a diagram schematically showing the configuration of continuous paper supplied to the sorting apparatus of FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram schematically showing a main configuration of the sorting apparatus of FIG. Referring to FIG. 1, the sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment is configured to supply a continuous sheet (generally a continuous sheet) 1.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the continuous paper 1 is, for example, computer output continuous paper, and has a form in which a large number of unit papers 21 are continuous in one direction (hereinafter referred to as “continuous direction”). Between the two unit sheets 21 adjacent to each other in the continuous direction, folding and cutting perforations 22 extend over the entire continuous sheet in a direction orthogonal to the continuous direction (hereinafter referred to as “width direction”). Is formed.

  The continuous paper 1 is formed with an elongated marginal portion 23 extending along the continuous direction on both sides in the width direction. In other words, the marginal portion 23 is an area defined by the outer edge 24 of the continuous sheet and the cutting perforation 25 extending along the continuous direction from the outer edge 24 at a predetermined interval. In the marginal portion 23, a number of conveying marginal holes 26 are formed at regular intervals along the continuous direction.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the continuous paper 1 is set at a predetermined position in a state of being folded zigzag for each unit paper along the folding and cutting perforation 22. The continuous paper 1 placed at a predetermined position is, for example, transported to drive a pair of endless belts having a number of marginal pins formed so as to be engaged with the marginal holes 26 along a predetermined path along the processing path. The paper is fed to the paper cutting unit 3 by the mechanism 2.

  That is, the operator of the apparatus drives the endless belt of the transport mechanism 2 after engaging the marginal hole 26 at the leading end of the continuous sheet 1 with the marginal pin of the pair of endless belts, whereby the continuous sheet 1 is turned into the sheet cutting unit 3. It is continuously conveyed to. Note that the marginal portion 23 is continuously cut off from the continuous paper 1 along the cutting perforation 25 by the action of a slitter (not shown) immediately before the paper cutting portion 3.

  The paper cutting unit 3 sequentially cuts the continuous paper 1 from which the marginal unit 23 has been cut off along the folding and cutting perforations 22. Specifically, the sheet cutting unit 3 includes, for example, a pair of rollers 3a that rotate at a low speed and a pair of rollers 3b that rotate at a high speed. Therefore, the leading end of the continuous paper 1 supplied to the paper cutting unit 3 reaches the high-speed rotation roller 3b after passing through the low-speed rotation roller 3a.

  At this time, the interval between the high-speed rotating rollers 3b is set wide, and the continuous paper 1 is transferred by the action of the low-speed rotating rollers 3a. Eventually, when the folding and cutting perforations 22 of the continuous paper 1 reach a predetermined position, the high-speed rotating roller 3b narrows the interval. As a result, a tensile force along the continuous direction acts on the continuous paper 1 due to a difference in transfer speed between the low-speed rotation roller 3a and the high-speed rotation roller 3b. In this state, by causing the blade 4 configured to reciprocate in the vertical direction to act on the folding / cutting perforation 22 of the continuous paper 1, the continuous paper 1 follows the folding / cutting perforation 22. Is cut off.

  The single piece paper (generally, a single piece sheet) 1a produced by sequentially cutting the continuous paper 1 along the folding and cutting perforations 22 in this way is provided along the first conveyance path from the paper cutting section 3. To the sorting processing unit 5. Referring to FIG. 3, the sorting processing unit 5 has an endless belt 5b suspended between a pair of rotating rollers 5a (only one rotating roller is shown in FIGS. 1 and 3), and a surface close to the endless belt 5b. And an idler roller 5c arranged to do so.

  Here, the pair of rotating rollers 5 a and the endless belt 5 b constitute a second transport path that follows the first transport path of the paper cutting unit 3. Accordingly, the single-piece sheets 1a sequentially conveyed along the first conveyance path from the sheet cutting unit 3 sequentially reach the endless belt 5b constituting the second conveyance path. The idle roller 5c has a feeding assist function along the conveying direction of the single sheet 1a on the endless belt 5b, and a stopper function for the single sheet 1a sequentially fed from the sheet cutting unit 3 onto the endless belt 5b.

  Referring to FIG. 3, the sorting processing unit 5 includes a rotating shaft 5d having a rotation axis in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction by the endless belt 5b (a direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 3), and a plate attached to the rotating shaft 5d. And a member 5e. Here, the plate member 5e has, for example, a planar shape including the rotation axis of the rotating shaft 5d, and the end portion of the single-sheet paper 1a located at the head of each single-sheet sheet group to be divided is used as an endless belt. An operating position (first position: indicated by a solid line in FIG. 3) that is held at a predetermined position above 5b, and the single-sheet paper 1a that is sequentially conveyed from the paper cutting unit 3 along the first conveyance path without stopping. It is configured to be switched between a rest position (second position: indicated by a broken line in FIG. 3) to be transferred to the endless belt 5b.

  Note that the switching operation from the operating position of the plate member 5e to the rest position is performed by rotating around the rotating shaft 5d in the same direction as the transport direction of the second transport path, as shown by the arrows in FIG. Further, switching from the rest position to the operating position is performed by rotating as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 3 in the same manner as switching from the operating position to the rest position. That is, the switching operation between the operating position and the rest position is an operation by rotation about the rotation shaft 5d in the same direction as the transport direction of the second transport path. In this way, by performing the switching operation in the same direction as the transport direction of the second transport path, the operation of mounting the single piece paper 1a on the second transport path can be performed smoothly. In addition, the width | variety of the plate member 5e is narrower than the space | interval of a pair of endless belts 5b, and arrange | positioning between a pair of endless belts 5b is also considered. With this arrangement, the plate member 5e does not contact the endless belt.

  That is, the rotating shaft 5d and the plate member 5e stop the single piece paper 1a located at the head of each single piece paper group from shifting from the first conveyance path to the second conveyance path (5a, 5b) for a predetermined time. For this purpose, a holding portion is configured to hold the leading end portion of the single-sheet paper 1a positioned at the head at a predetermined position above the second transport path (5a, 5b). Further, a mark detection unit 6 for detecting marks (characters, symbols, etc.) attached to each unit paper of the continuous paper 1 is provided immediately before the paper cutting unit 3.

  As the mark detection unit 6, for example, an appropriate sensor means such as an OCR (optical character reader), OMR (optical mark reader), or a barcode reader can be used. The detection result of the mark detection unit 6 is supplied to the control unit 7. The control unit 7 drives and controls the paper cutting unit 3 and the sorting processing unit 5. That is, the control unit 7 drives and controls the low-speed rotation roller 3 a, the high-speed rotation roller 3 b, and the blade 4 in the paper cutting unit 3. Further, the control unit 7 controls driving of the rotary shaft 5d in the sorting processing unit 5, thereby controlling switching between the operating position and the rest position of the plate member 5e.

  In the present embodiment, the mark detection unit 6 detects a mark attached to each unit sheet of the continuous sheet 1 and supplies the detection result to the control unit 7. Based on the detection result supplied from the mark detection unit 6, the control unit 7 detects, for example, that the single piece of paper 1 a positioned at the head of each single piece of paper group to be sorted by destination is sent from the paper cutting unit 3 to the endless belt 5 b. The plate member 5e is set to the operating position by drivingly controlling the rotating shaft 5d via a motor (not shown), not shown, at the timing of shifting to (5).

  Thus, by the action of the plate member 5e set at the operating position, the leading end portion of the single piece paper 1a positioned at the head of each single piece paper group is held at a predetermined position above the endless belt 5b. It is possible to stop the sheet 1a from moving onto the endless belt 5b for a predetermined time. When a predetermined time elapses after setting the plate member 5e to the operating position, the control unit 7 drives the rotary shaft 5d to return the plate member 5e to the rest position. When the plate member 5e is set at the rest position, the single-sheet paper 1a conveyed from the paper cutting unit 3 is sequentially shifted to the endless belt 5b without stopping.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the single-sheet paper 1a positioned at the head of each single-sheet sheet group is transported from the operation position for holding the leading end portion of the single-sheet paper 1a at a predetermined position above the endless belt 5b and the sheet cutting unit 3. A plate member 5e that can be switched between a rest position in which the single-sheet paper 1a is sequentially shifted to the endless belt 5b without being stopped. As a result, one single sheet group consisting of a plurality (or one) of single sheet sheets on the endless belt 5b preceding the first single sheet 1a of each single sheet group and the first single sheet 1a A separation space is provided between the subsequent single sheet groups to be included, and the single sheet 1a sequentially conveyed from the sheet cutting unit 3 is divided into individual sheet groups on the endless belt 5b.

  In the present embodiment, unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to stop the conveyance from the sheet cutting unit 3 intermittently when sorting into individual single-sheet groups, so that a quick sorting process is possible. Further, in the present embodiment, unlike the prior art, it is not necessary to insert a slip sheet between two single-sheet sheets when sorting into each single-sheet group, so that the slip-sheet tape disappears in the middle. This will not interrupt the sorting process. In other words, in the present embodiment, the single-piece sheets that are sequentially conveyed along the conveyance path can be quickly divided into individual-sheet groups without interruption. The sorting apparatus according to the present embodiment is most suitable for a machine (sealer) that creates a bonded postcard (crimp postcard), for example.

  In the above-described embodiment, when the plate member 5e contacts the endless belt 5b when the plate member 5e is moved from the operating position to the rest position, the endless belt 5b is not damaged by the contact. As described above, the plate member 5e is preferably formed of a flexible material (for example, an appropriate resin material). Further, in the above-described embodiment, when the plate member 5e is set at the operating position, each pair of single-sheet paper subjected to the sorting process by rotating the pair of rotating rollers 5a around which the endless belt 5b is suspended at high speed. Forced discharge from the second transport path (5a, 5b) of the group can also be performed quickly.

  In order to avoid mechanical interference between the idler roller 5c, the rotating shaft 5d, and the plate member 5e in the sorting processing unit 5 of the above-described embodiment, in the direction orthogonal to the paper surface of FIG. 1 and FIG. A configuration may be considered in which a pair of idler rollers 5c are provided at an interval, and the rotation shaft 5d and the plate member 5e are arranged using the space between the pair of idler rollers 5c. Further, the present invention is not limited to this configuration, and various modifications are possible within the scope of the present invention regarding the positional relationship between the idle roller 5c, the rotating shaft 5d, and the plate member 5e.

  Moreover, as shown in FIG. 4, it was suspended between a pair of rotating rollers 8a (only one rotating roller is shown in FIG. 4) as a third conveying path following the second conveying path (5a, 5b). An endless belt 8b is provided, and each single piece of paper that is sequentially conveyed from the second conveyance path (5a, 5b) is stopped by the action of the stopper 8c, and a plurality of single pieces of paper constituting each single piece of paper group are stopped. It is preferred to stock up vertically in the top direction. In this case, the pair of rotating rollers 8a and the endless belt 8b can reciprocate in the vertical direction.

  Specifically, the height positions of the pair of rotating rollers 8a and the endless belt 8b are the highest when receiving the leading single sheet of each single sheet group, and gradually drop each time a single sheet is received. It is lowest when receiving the last single piece of a single piece group. In the configuration example of FIG. 4, the bundle 9 of single piece sheets in which a plurality of single piece sheets constituting each single piece sheet group are stacked in the vertical direction is sequentially formed, so that the workability of post-processing of the sorting process is improved. To do.

It is a figure which shows roughly the structure of the sorting apparatus concerning embodiment of this invention. It is a figure which shows schematically the structure of the continuous paper supplied to the sorting apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows roughly the principal part structure of the sorting apparatus of FIG. It is a figure which shows roughly the example which stacks and stocks the several single piece paper which comprises each single piece paper group in the perpendicular direction.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Continuous paper 2 Transfer mechanism 3 Paper cutting part 3a Low-speed rotation roller 3b High-speed rotation roller 4 Blade 5 Sorting processing part 5d Rotating shaft 5e Plate member 6 Mark detection part 7 Control part

Claims (2)

A sorting apparatus that divides single sheet sheets sequentially conveyed along a first conveyance path into each single sheet group in a second conveyance path following the first conveyance path,
In order to stop the single sheet located at the head of each single sheet group from moving from the first transport path to the second transport path for a predetermined time, the leading end portion of the single sheet positioned at the top is A holding unit that holds the second conveyance path at a predetermined position above the second conveyance path;
The holding portion includes a rotation shaft having a rotation axis in a direction substantially orthogonal to the conveyance direction of the second conveyance path, and a plate member attached to the rotation shaft.
The holding unit includes a first position that holds a leading end portion of the single-piece sheet positioned at the top at a predetermined position above the second conveyance path, and a single-piece sheet that is sequentially conveyed along the first conveyance path. The position of the plate member is switched between the second position to be transferred to the second transport path without stopping
The rotating shaft and the plate member are a pair of idler rollers provided so that the surfaces thereof are close to the transport surface of the second transport path with an interval in a direction substantially perpendicular to the transport direction of the second transport path. is disposed between,
The pair of idle rollers have a feeding assist function along the conveying direction of the single sheet on the second conveying path,
The switching operation between the first position and the second position is an operation of rotating the plate member around the rotating shaft in the same direction as the rotating direction of the pair of idler rollers. apparatus. A mark detection unit for sequentially detecting marks formed on single-piece sheets sequentially conveyed along the first conveyance path, and for controlling the operation of the holding unit according to the output of the mark detection unit The sorting apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a control unit.

Images