JP4387452B2 - Paper sheet transport method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper sheet transport method for transporting paper sheets by airflow.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, when a banknote is transported at a game hall or the like, a transport device that transports using a belt or a roller has been used.
However, in such a transport apparatus, the entire apparatus becomes large in a game area having a large area, and the running cost for driving the belt and the rollers becomes very high.

Then, this inventor proposed the conveyance apparatus which conveys a banknote using an airflow, and applied for PCT (PCT / JP2007 / 064211).
According to the transport device using such an air flow, the device can be downsized and the running cost can be reduced as compared with a transport device using a belt or a roller.

PCT / JP2007 / 064211

However, when transporting paper sheets, it is difficult to avoid clogging of paper sheets in the transport path regardless of transport means such as belts, rollers, and airflows. It is desirable to be able to quickly or easily resolve this paper jam.
The present invention meets the above-mentioned demands, and the object of the present invention is to transport a paper sheet that can eliminate clogging of the paper sheet in the air duct when the paper sheet is transported by an air flow. To provide a method.

The paper sheet conveying method according to the present invention uses a paper sheet conveying apparatus having a blower pipe and an air flow generating device for generating an air flow in the blower pipe, and a method for conveying paper sheets in the blower pipe. When a paper sheet is clogged in the blower tube, a physical force is applied to the paper sheet to promote the movement of the paper sheet. In addition, the present invention is characterized in that a catching piece having a catching part and movable by an air flow flowing in a blower pipe is caused to flow, and a jammed paper sheet is hooked on the catching part of the catching piece and moved.

A deformed portion is formed in the paper sheet, the paper sheet is fed into the blower pipe, and the paper sheet is conveyed by wind pressure acting on the deformed portion.
Further, it is preferable that the deforming portion is formed on the rear side in the sheet conveying direction.

The hooking portion is formed on the rear side of the hooking piece as a bent piece that bends in opposite directions toward a pair of wall portions facing the blower tube.

In addition, a plurality of ribs that protrude inward from the wall surface at a required height and extend in the air blowing direction are opposed to the respective wall surfaces of the air blowing pipe facing both surfaces of the conveyed paper sheet. The bent pieces that are formed in such a manner as to bend in the opposite directions are provided so as to be able to pass through the interval between the adjacent ribs.

Each of the bent pieces bent in opposite directions is divided into a plurality of pieces.
An end edge portion of the bent piece is formed in a saw blade shape.
The bent piece whose end edge is formed in a saw blade shape is twisted so that the bent surface of the bent piece becomes a spiral surface.
It is preferable that the hook piece is sent from the upstream portion of the blower pipe into the blower pipe and collected at the downstream part of the blower pipe.

A through-hole that is normally closed is formed in the wall portion of the blower pipe, and when the hook piece is collected, a stopper piece is inserted into the blower pipe from the through-hole to flow through the blower pipe. Is brought into contact with a stopper bar and stopped, a lid provided in the vicinity of the through hole is opened to open the blower pipe, and the hook piece is collected together with the paper sheets.

  In the paper sheet conveying method according to the present invention, the physical force from the air flow or the hooking piece is applied to the paper sheet to promote the movement of the paper sheet and to eliminate the jamming of the paper sheet. Therefore, the jamming of the paper sheets can be easily eliminated without destroying or cutting the blower tube. When the value of paper sheets such as banknotes is high, an open type transport method consisting of a belt or roller system may cause a loss accident or the like due to paper sheets falling or other causes in the middle of the transport path. According to the present invention, the blower pipe can be configured as a continuous pipe that cannot be easily disassembled, and since the inside of the blower pipe is conveyed, the blower pipe is closed compared to the open mold, and a system that is superior in crime prevention can be constructed.

It is a schematic diagram of a paper sheet conveying apparatus. It is sectional drawing of a blower pipe. It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline | summary of a bending apparatus. It is sectional drawing of a bending part. It is a front view of a sealing material. It is a fragmentary sectional view of a sealing material. It is explanatory drawing which shows the conveyance principle of paper sheets. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of the rib shape in a bending part. It is explanatory drawing which shows embodiment which provided the protruding part in the inner wall surface of the bending part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of a bending apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the state in which paper sheets entered the bending apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the bending operation | movement of the paper sheets in a bending apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of a bending apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the bending operation | movement of the paper sheets in the bending apparatus of FIG. It is explanatory drawing which shows other embodiment of a bending apparatus. It is explanatory drawing which shows the detail of a feed roll. It is explanatory drawing which shows the bending operation | movement of paper sheets in the bending apparatus of FIG. It is a top view of a recovery device. It is a side view of a collection device. It is a top view which shows other embodiment of a collection | recovery apparatus. It is a front view which shows other embodiment of a collection | recovery apparatus. It is explanatory drawing of the state which bends and conveys paper sheets in the direction where the width direction end surface becomes an inner side. It is explanatory drawing of a twisted tube. It is sectional drawing of the bending pipe | tube by which the flow path was bent in the orthogonal direction. It is explanatory drawing of a ventilation part and an inverter. It is explanatory drawing which has arrange | positioned the on-off valve in the ventilation pipe. It is explanatory drawing of the valve blade of the on-off valve of FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the valve mechanism which opens and closes the external air introduction hole provided in the ventilation pipe. It is explanatory drawing of the other valve mechanism which opens and closes the external air introduction hole provided in the ventilation pipe. It is explanatory drawing of the mechanism which reverses the flow direction of the airflow in a ventilation pipe. It is explanatory drawing of a hook piece. It is explanatory drawing which shows the other example of a hook piece. It is explanatory drawing which shows the further another example of a hook piece. It is explanatory drawing which shows the injection | throwing-in and collection | recovery method of a hook piece. It is explanatory drawing which provided the groove | channel in the receiving part. It is explanatory drawing which shows the state by which the receiving part was closed and the guide channel | path is formed. It is explanatory drawing of the state which provided the opening part which can be opened and closed by a cover body in a ventilation pipe | tube. It is explanatory drawing of the robot which carries out the inside of a ventilation pipe | tube automatically.

Preferred embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
First, a paper sheet transport device (PCT / JP2007 / 062421) developed by the present inventor and filed for PCT will be described, and thereafter, the paper sheet transport device will clog paper sheets. A method for solving the problem will be described.
Although the description of the paper sheet transport device is long, it is a technology that has not been disclosed at the time of filing this application, and will be described in detail below. In the present invention (related to the elimination of jammed paper sheets), it is first pointed out that the paper sheet conveying device itself is not limited to the conveying device according to the PCT application.

FIG. 1 shows an outline of the entire sheet transport apparatus 20.
Reference numeral 22 denotes a blower pipe, which is bent into a U shape at a bent portion 23 in the example of FIG.
Reference numeral 24 denotes a blower unit (air flow generator) composed of a blower or the like, which is connected to the inlet part of the blower pipe 22 via the delivery pipe 25 and the connecting pipe 26 and blows air into the blower pipe 22. An air flow is generated inside. The blower (air flow generator) 24 may be a suction blower that sucks air in the blower tube 22. In addition, it is preferable to arrange an air cleaner (not shown) (such as a filter, an electrostatic precipitator, or an ozone generator) between the air outlet or the air inlet of the air blowing unit 24 and the air pipe 22.

28 is a device for feeding paper such as banknotes, and feeds the paper into the blower tube 22. In the case of the present embodiment, the feeding device 28 includes a bill recognition device 29 disposed on the front side of the feeding device and a bending device 30 disposed on the back side.
The banknote identification device 29 discriminates the type and authenticity of the inserted banknote, and since a known mechanism can be adopted, detailed description is omitted.
Note that a drive motor (not shown) of the blower unit (air flow generator) 24 is activated when it is detected that a sheet has been put into the feeding device 28 and it is necessary to transport the sheet. It is preferable to do so. Thereby, power consumption can be reduced.

The details of the bending device 30 will be described later. For example, the bending device 30 is temporarily bent in an L shape or a round shape with respect to the flat portion 32a of the paper sheet 32 as shown in FIG. The deformed portion 32b is formed.
As will be described later, wind pressure from the air flow flowing in the blower tube 22 acts on the temporary deforming portion 32b, and the paper sheet 32 is conveyed in the blower tube 22.
The term “temporary” means that it can be corrected to be flat later.

  The required number of feeding devices 28 are arranged at appropriate positions on the blower tube 22. For example, the paper sheet transport apparatus 20 of the present embodiment is used for a banknote collection apparatus in a pachinko parlor. In this case, the feeding apparatus 28 corresponds to a banknote insertion unit in a ball lending machine, and usually one unit. One feeding device 28 is disposed beside the pachinko machine.

The paper sheets 32 conveyed by the air flow in the blower tube 22 are collected by the collecting device 34 at the end of the blower tube 22. Details of the recovery device 34 will be described later.
Only the paper sheet 32 is recovered by the recovery device 34, and the air flow that has passed through the recovery device 34 is returned to the blower 24 by the return pipe 36. The return pipe 36 is provided with an external air intake 37, so that external air is taken together with the return air and is blown again from the blower 24 into the blower pipe 22. In this way, it is preferable to circulate the return air and reduce the amount of external air taken in, so that air in a pachinko parlor that is easily contaminated with tobacco smoke can be prevented from being sent into the blower tube 22 as much as possible. It is. Note that the blower pipe 22 does not necessarily have to be such a circulation pipe.

Next, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the air duct 22.
In the present embodiment, the blower tube 22 is formed as a rectangular tube having a rectangular cross section.
Each wall surface (one facing wall surface 22a, 22a) of the blower tube 22 facing the surface of the paper sheet 32 to be fed protrudes inward of the blower tube 22 from the wall surface 22a, 22a at a required height, A plurality of ribs 40 extending in the blowing direction are formed. The interval between the tip portions of the ribs 40 formed on both the wall surfaces 22a and 22a is formed such that the deformable portion 32b of the paper sheet 32 can pass through. Moreover, the space | interval between the other opposing wall surfaces 22b and 22b is formed in the space | interval which can pass the paper sheet 32, without deform | transforming. The cross section of the paper sheet passage space formed between the tip end of the rib 40 and the other opposing wall surface 22b, 22b is formed in a rectangular shape. The blower tube 22 is not necessarily a square tube but may be a tube having a circular cross section.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing details of the bent portion 23.
In the bent portion 23, the paper sheet 32 is a part that is bent and conveyed in a direction in which one surface thereof is inward.
The rib 40 of the wall surface 23a inside the bent portion from the upstream side to the downstream side of the bent portion 23 is formed as follows. That is, the height is gradually decreased from the required upstream side of the bent portion 23 to the inlet portion of the bent portion 23. At the entrance of the bent portion 23, the height of the rib 40 is almost zero. On the other hand, the rib 40 is formed so that its height gradually increases from almost zero from the inlet portion of the bent portion 23 to the required downstream side. It should be noted that even if the height is almost zero, it is not completely zero, and it is preferable that there is some height.

  The rib 40 on the outer wall surface 23b of the bent portion 23 may remain at the height of the rib 40 in the straight portion of the blower tube 22, but as shown in FIG. 4, the tip of the rib 40 on the inner wall surface 23a. It is preferable that the height of the rib 40 of the wall surface 23b is changed in accordance with the change of the height of the rib 40 of the wall surface 23a so that the distance between the portion and the tip of the rib 40 on the outer wall surface 23b is constant. It is. That is, it is preferable that the height of the rib 40 of the wall surface 23b is formed so that the height gradually increases from the upstream side of the bent portion 23 to the bent portion and gradually decreases from the bent portion to the downstream side. .

The long straight pipe portion of the blower pipe 22 is formed by appropriately connecting a plurality of short straight pipes. Of course, the bent portion 23 is formed by connecting a bent tube to a straight tube.
When these straight pipes or bent pipes are connected, there may be a case where the connection cannot be made well if a deviation occurs. In this case, a connecting pipe (not shown) formed of a flexible material is prepared, and the connecting pipe is interposed to absorb the deviation and connect.

  Moreover, it is preferable to cover the connecting portion between the air pipes 22 with a sealing material 160 as shown in FIGS. The sealing material 160 is formed in a cylindrical shape with a soft resin material or rubber material, and ends of the blower tube 22 are densely inserted from both sides. Ring-shaped protrusions 162 are formed on both sides of the inner wall surface of the sealing material 160 sandwiching the end of the air duct 22. The protrusion 162 comes into contact with the outer wall of the blower tube 22 to be hermetically sealed. In particular, when the inside of the air duct 22 is sucked by the blower and becomes a negative pressure, the sealing material 160 is further brought into close contact with the outer wall of the air duct, so that the sealing performance is further improved. In addition, a flange portion 164 is provided at an end portion of the seal material 160, and by gripping the flange portion 164, the seal material 160 can be easily turned over, and the connection end can be exposed. Can be easily maintained.

Next, the detailed explanation of the feeding device 28 and the collection device 34 will be described later, and the principle of transporting the paper sheet 32 in the present embodiment will be described below.
Paper sheets in which the rear side in the conveying direction is deformed into an L shape, an arc shape, a cylindrical shape, or a zigzag shape with respect to the plane portion by a bending device 30 of the feeding device 28 described later, and a deformed portion 32b is formed. 32 is fed into the blower tube 22.
As shown in FIG. 7, the paper sheets 32 sent into the blower pipe 22 have a space A with the ribs 40a on the deformed portion 32b side, and air flows between the ribs 40a. There is no close contact with the rib 40a side. On the opposite side of the rib 40b, air flows between the rib 40b along the outer wall of the deformed portion 32b, and a force acts to pull the deformed portion 32b away from the rib 40b. Since air flows between them, the paper sheet 32 does not adhere to the rib 40b side.

In this way, the paper sheet 32 receives almost no resistance from the ribs 40a and 40b, and as a result, the wind pressure acting on the deformed portion 32b does not cause fluttering at the tip portion, and the air blow tube 22 is extremely smooth. Moved inside. As a result of observation, since the paper sheets 32 move at a speed close to the wind speed, initially, after receiving the wind pressure acting on the deforming portion 32b and obtaining a propulsive force, the paper sheets 32 flow through the air duct 22 together with the air flow. Thus, it was confirmed that the inside of the air duct 22 was moved smoothly and conveyed.
In addition, when forming the deformation | transformation part 32b, you may bend | fold the paper sheet whole in a substantially perfect U shape.
However, in order to stably transport paper sheets, for example, for banknotes, the rear half of the banknotes, particularly preferably 5 mm to 50 mm from the rear edge of the banknotes (the banknote length is about 16 cm). For example, the deformable portion 32b may be formed so that the deformation starting point is located at a portion from the rear end of the bill to about 3 to 35% of the length of the bill. Note that the starting point of deformation refers to a contact point between an arc and a straight line portion, for example, in the case of R bending.

As described above, by providing the ribs 40 on the wall surfaces 22a and 22a of the blower tube 22, the contact area of the paper sheet 32 can be reduced as much, the contact resistance can be reduced, and the paper sheet 32 is conveyed. Can be done smoothly.
Furthermore, by providing the rib 40, the pipe cross-sectional area of the blower pipe 22 can be increased. A bill collecting device in a pachinko parlor requires a long pipe, but if it is a thin pipe, the pipe resistance increases, making it difficult to transport paper sheets to the end.
By providing the rib 40, there is an advantage that the pipe cross-sectional area can be increased, the pressure loss is reduced, and the paper sheets can be conveyed farther.

In the bent portion 23 shown in FIG. 4, the height of the rib 40 on the inner wall surface 23 a side is particularly formed as described above. Therefore, when the paper sheet 32 approaches the bent portion 23, the upstream rib of the bent portion 23 is formed. Since 40 is lowered toward the entrance of the bent portion 23, the flow velocity of the air flow between the front end portion of the paper sheet 32 and the wall surface 23a is increased, and the pressure is reduced. On the other hand, the flow velocity between the front end portion of the paper sheet 32 and the wall surface 23 b is reduced and the pressure is increased, whereby the front end portion side of the paper sheet 32 is attracted to the inner wall surface 23 a of the bent portion 23.
As a result, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 4, the paper sheet 32 turns slightly in a state in which the leading end side of the paper sheet 32 is in contact with the inner wall surface 23 a of the bent portion 23. Even the bent portion 23 having a small radius of curvature is transported smoothly and without resistance.

FIGS. 8A and 8B show another embodiment of the rib 40 in the bent portion 23.
In the feeding device 28, in the case of paper sheets such as old banknotes, it is difficult to insert into the insertion port of the feeding device 28 because it is weak, so it is folded into two, three, etc. In some cases, the paper sheets 32 are fed into the feeding device 28 in such a state that a mountain-like crease is formed to strengthen the waist.
Although the paper sheet on which such a fold is formed can form a curled bending deformation in the bending device 30, a state where it cannot be corrected up to a mountain-shaped fold may occur.

  When the stiff paper sheet 32 as described above is fed into the blower tube 22, as shown in FIG. 4, the leading end side of the paper sheet 32 is drawn toward the inner wall surface 23a of the bent portion 23 as described above. However, it does not become a state of being bent along the wall surface 23a, and the front end side remains almost a straight body and collides with the rib 40 on the outer wall surface of the bent portion 23, which may cause clogging at this portion. There is.

  Therefore, in the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, among the four ribs 40c, 40d, 40e, and 40f formed on the inner wall surface 23a of the bent portion 23, the central side is used. A raised portion 41 that protrudes inward of the blower pipe 22 is provided in the upstream portion of the two ribs 40 d and 40 e immediately before the entrance of the bent portion 23. The rib 40 from the bent portion entrance to the required downstream side is formed so that the height gradually increases from almost zero as shown in FIG.

As described above, by forming the raised portion 41 on the ribs 40d and 40e, the paper sheet 32 that has entered the bent portion 23 rides on the raised portion 41 on the tip end side.
A slight difference in wind speed occurs on both sides of the paper sheet 32, and the wind pressure acting on the outer side surface of the paper sheet 32 is larger than the wind pressure acting on the inner side surface due to this wind speed difference. It is considered that a seesaw-like force with the top of the raised portion 41 as a fulcrum acts on the outer side surface of the paper sheet 32 riding on the 41, and as a result, the paper sheet having a strong waist on the raised portion 41. Even in the case 32, the tip end side is bent in the direction of the inner wall surface 23a, and as a result, the state shown in FIG. 4 is obtained, and it is confirmed that the paper sheet 32 passes through the bent portion 23 without any trouble.

Note that the rib 40 provided on the outer wall surface of the bent portion 23 does not need to be provided with a recess corresponding to the raised portion 41 of the inner rib, and may be the height of the rib 40 as in the state of FIG.
Moreover, although the case where the four ribs 40c-40f were provided was demonstrated above, it is not restricted to this. Moreover, you may provide the protruding part 41 in all the ribs 40 of the inner wall surface 23a. The shape of the raised portion 41 is not particularly limited as long as the paper sheet 32 flows smoothly.

Or as shown in FIG. 9, you may make it raise the flow velocity by providing the protruding part 39 in the inner wall surface inside the ventilation pipe | tube 22 of the inlet side of the bending part 23, reducing the effective cross-sectional area of the ventilation pipe | tube 22. As shown in FIG. The raised portion 39 lifts the entire inner wall surface on the inside, and does not provide a raised portion on the rib. Further, the rib 40 is not provided on the inner wall surface (inner inner wall surface, outer inner wall surface) of the air duct 22 in the bent portion 23.
By doing so, a pressure difference is generated between the front and back of the paper sheet 32, and even the stiff paper sheet 32 is bent by the seesaw effect and passes through the bent portion 23 without clogging. As a form of the rib, there may be no rib at the bent portion, or the smooth passage of the paper sheet 32 may be helped.

Next, details of the bending device 30 of the feeding device 28 will be described with reference to FIGS.
In FIG. 10, 33a and 33a are a pair of said feeding roller, and it feeds the paper sheets 32 into the ventilation pipe 22 at right angles to the blowing direction. Gears (not shown) provided concentrically with the pair of feed rollers 33a and 33a are meshed with each other, and one drive roller 33a is driven to rotate by a motor that can rotate forward and reverse (not shown), thereby The rollers 33a are also rotated in synchronization. Further, when the other roller 33a is urged and pressed by a spring (not shown) against the one roller 33a, the paper sheet 32 is sandwiched between the rollers 33a and 33a, and the paper sheet 32 is fed. ing. In the above description, the paper sheet 32 is fed from a direction perpendicular to the blower tube 22, but the angle at which the paper sheet 32 is fed is arbitrarily changed depending on the space where the feeding device 28 is installed and the convenience of the device. It doesn't matter.

The bills discriminated by the bill discriminating device 29 are fed out to the feed rollers 33a and 33a of the bending device 30 from a pair of feed rollers (not shown) located on the bill discriminating device 29 side.
A passage opening / closing means 42 is disposed between the feed rollers 33a and 33a and the feed roller. The passage opening / closing means 42 can open and close the paper sheet passage 43 between both the feeding roller 33a and the feeding roller, and when the paper sheet passage 43 is closed (when blocked), the feeding roller 33a. , 33a is formed with an inclined guide portion 44 that guides and deforms the rear end portion of the paper sheet.

  Specifically, the passage opening / closing means 42 has a pair of claw pieces 45a and 45b provided with the paper sheet passage 43 interposed therebetween, and at least one claw piece of the pair of claw pieces 45a and 45b is movable. It is formed on the nail piece. In the present embodiment, the claw piece 45 a is formed as a fixed claw piece, and the claw piece 45 b is formed as a movable claw piece that rotates about the shaft 46. The movable claw piece 45b is rotated so that one end side is pulled by the spring 47 and the other end side overlaps the fixed claw piece 45a side.

That is, the other end side of the movable claw piece 45b and the fixed claw piece 45a opposite to the other side are formed in, for example, a comb-teeth shape, and enter the space between the comb teeth, as shown in FIG. In this case, the paper sheet passage 43 is blocked.
Thus, when the other end side of the movable claw piece 45b and the fixed claw piece 45a overlap, the rear end of the paper sheet is placed on the surface of the claw pieces 45a, 45b on the side facing the feeding rollers 33a, 33a. The inclined guide portion 44 is formed to guide and deform the portion.

  As shown in FIG. 10, the inclined guide portion 44 is inclined toward the downstream side of the air flow of the blower pipe 22 in a direction gradually separating from the roller 33a located on the downstream side of the rollers 33a and 33a. is doing. A stopper 50 is formed at the end of the inclined guide portion 44. Note that the width of the inclined guide portion 44 in the direction perpendicular to the paper surface in FIG. 10 is preferably slightly wider than the width of the paper sheet 32.

  48 is a sensor composed of a light emitting part and a light receiving part. When the paper sheet 32 does not pass through, it is not blocked by the lever 45c on the movable claw piece 45b side as shown in FIG. 10, but as shown in FIG. When 32 moves the movable claw piece 45b against the urging force of the spring 47, it is blocked by the lever 45c. The sensor on / off signal is input to the control unit 120 (FIG. 29) that controls the entire sheet feeding device 28.

Next, the operation of forming the deformed portion 32b on the rear end side of the paper sheet 32 by the bending device 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 12A shows a state where a paper sheet (banknote) is inserted into the banknote recognition device 29 and a banknote recognition operation is performed. At this time, the feeding rollers 33a and 33a are not yet rotated.
When the bill recognition operation is performed and the paper sheet is fed out in the direction of the feed rollers 33a and 33a by the feed roller (not shown), the leading end of the paper sheet 32 resists the urging force of the spring 47 and the movable claw The piece 45b is rotated, and the sensor 48 is shut off (turned off) by the lever 45c. When this shut-off signal is input to a control unit (not shown), the control unit drives a motor (not shown) so that both the feed rollers 33a and 33a rotate in the paper sheet feed direction (FIG. 12B).

  When the paper sheet 32 is fed by the both feeding rollers 33a and 33a and the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 passes through both the claw pieces 45a and 45b as shown in FIG. 12C, the movable claw piece 45b is spring-loaded. It is rotated to its original position by the urging force of 47, and the paper sheet passage 43 is blocked by both the claw pieces 45a and 45b, and the sensor 48 is again in the light receiving state (ON), and this ON signal is input to the control unit. The

When the ON signal is input to the control unit, the control unit temporarily stops the motor (FIG. 12C) and rotates the motor in the reverse direction by a predetermined angle. As a result, the paper sheet 32 is pulled back a predetermined distance (FIG. 12D to FIG. 12F).
When the paper sheet 32 is pulled back in this way, first, as shown in FIG. 12 (d), the rear end of the paper sheet 32 comes into contact with the inclined guide portion 44, and then shown in FIG. 12 (e). As described above, the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 is pulled back along the inclined guide portion 44, the rear end contacts the stopper 50, and the movement along the inclined guide portion 44 is stopped.

When both rollers 33a and 33a are still rotated in the opposite direction, as shown in FIG. 12 (f), the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 is slightly fed in the direction of the upstream roller 33a, and the paper sheet The deformation of the rear end of the class 32 is emphasized.
Since the inclined guide portion 44 is inclined from the upstream side toward the downstream side in a direction away from the downstream roller 33a, the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 is recessed toward the downstream roller 33a side. Is deformed into a curved state. The shape of the deformable portion 32b can be formed in an L shape or a round shape depending on the amount of the paper sheet 32 pulled back, the shape of the inclined surface of the inclined guide portion 44, and the like.

After the motor of the predetermined angle is rotated in the reverse direction, as shown in FIGS. 12G and 12H, the feeding rollers 33a and 33a are rotated forward by the control unit, and the deformed portion 32b is formed at the rear end. The paper sheet 32 is sent into the blower tube 22.
As described above, the deformed portion 32b is formed in a state in which the rear end portion side of the paper sheet 32 is curved so as to be concave on the roller 33a side located on the downstream side in the blowing direction of the feeding rollers. Even if the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 on which the 32b is formed passes between both the rollers 33a and 33a, the deformation of the deformable portion 32b is not restored. That is, the leading end of the paper sheet 32 is bent in the air flow direction, which is the same direction as the deformation of the deformation part 32b, as shown in FIG. Since the rear end portion passes through the downstream roller 33a, the deformed state can be maintained even if the deformable portion 32b returns somewhat.

In the present embodiment, when the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 is deformed so as to be concave toward the upstream roller 33a, which is opposite to the above, the space between the rollers 33a and 33a is the rear of the paper sheet. When the end portion 32b passes, the deformed portion 32b is returned to the original state, which is not preferable.
As shown in FIG. 3, when the paper sheet 32 is fed from the bending device 30 into the blower tube 22, the front end and the rear end of the paper sheet 32 are not caught on the end surface of the rib 40. The end surface of the rib 40 at the inlet from the bending device 30 may be formed on the inclined surface 40a that gradually increases in the air flow direction.
Further, the portion of the blower tube 22 to which the bending device 30 (and hence the feeding device 28) is connected may be formed integrally with the bending device 30 side and connected to the straight pipe portion of the blower tube 22 to be incorporated. .
Note that the banknote identification device 29 is not necessarily provided in the feeding device 28. However, the paper sheets may be supplied directly to the feeding rollers 33a and 33a of the bending device 30 by using a belt or a roller or manually.

Next, another embodiment of the bending apparatus 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The same members as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, a pressing roller 49 that rotates in contact with the feeding roller 33a located on the downstream side of the pair of feeding rollers 33a and 33a is provided. The pressing roller 49 is urged by a spring 51 and is in pressure contact with the downstream feeding roller 33a. Adjacent to the pressing roller 49, there is provided a guide portion 53 having an arc surface that forms a slight gap into which a paper sheet can enter between the outer peripheral surface of the downstream feeding roller 33a.

The operation of the bending apparatus 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 14A shows a state in which a paper sheet (banknote) is inserted into the banknote recognition device 29 and a banknote recognition operation is performed. At this time, the feeding rollers 33a and 33a are not yet rotated.
When the bill recognition operation is performed and the paper sheet is fed out in the direction of the feed rollers 33a and 33a by the feed roller (not shown), the leading end of the paper sheet 32 resists the urging force of the spring 47 and the movable claw The piece 45b is rotated, and the sensor 48 is shut off (turned off) by the lever 45c. When this shut-off signal is input to a control unit (not shown), the control unit drives a motor (not shown) so that both the feeding rollers 33a and 33a rotate in the paper sheet feeding direction (FIG. 14B).

  When the paper sheet 32 is fed by the both feeding rollers 33a and 33a and the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 passes through both the claw pieces 45a and 45b as shown in FIG. 14 (c), the movable claw piece 45b becomes a spring. It is rotated to its original position by the urging force of 47, and the paper sheet passage 43 is blocked by both the claw pieces 45a and 45b, and the sensor 48 is again in the light receiving state (ON), and this ON signal is input to the control unit. The

When the ON signal is input to the control unit, the control unit temporarily stops the motor and rotates the motor in the reverse direction by a predetermined angle. As a result, the paper sheet 32 is pulled back by a predetermined distance (FIG. 14D).
When the paper sheet 32 is pulled back in this way, the rear end of the paper sheet 32 comes into contact with the inclined guide portion 44, the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 is pulled back along the inclined guide portion 44, and further the pressing roller. 49 enters between the feed roller 33a and the feed roller 33a, is further pulled back, enters between the feed roller 33a and the guide portion 53, and is deformed into an arc shape. Alternatively, when the sheet is further pulled back, the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 enters between the feeding rollers 33a and 33a and is deformed into a cylindrical shape.

After the motor of the predetermined angle is rotated in the reverse direction, as shown in FIG. 14E, the control unit rotates the feeding rollers 33a and 33a in the forward direction, and the paper sheet 32 having the deformed portion 32b formed at the rear end. Is sent into the blower tube 22.
By adjusting the pullback amount of the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32, the shape of the deformable portion 32b can be formed into various shapes such as a cylindrical shape in addition to an L shape and a J shape.

Next, still another embodiment of the bending apparatus 30 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The same members as those in the embodiment shown in FIGS. 10 to 12 are denoted by the same reference numerals, and the description thereof is omitted.
In the present embodiment, the feed roller 33a located on the upstream side of the pair of feed rollers 33a, 33a is attached to one end side of an L-shaped swing arm 80 swinging about a shaft 81, and the swing arm One end of a spring 82 is fixed to the other end side of 80, and the upstream feed roller 33 a is biased by the spring 82 so as to be in pressure contact with the downstream feed roller 33 a. Although not shown, a pair of L-shaped swing arms 80 are provided, and the other end of the upstream feed roller 33a is also rotatably supported.

Details of the pair of feed rollers 33a and 33a will be described with reference to FIG.
Reference numeral 84 denotes a drive motor that rotationally drives the upstream feed roller 33 a via the transmission gear group 85. Reference numerals 86 and 87 denote shield shafts, which are arranged in parallel with the feed rollers 33a and 33a, respectively, and at a small interval from the feed rollers 33a and 33a. A projection 88 is formed at the center of one shield shaft 86 in the length direction, and this projection 88 is received in contact with the support portion on the main body side, whereby the shield shaft 86 and the downstream feeding roller 33a move the seesaw. Thus, it is possible to ensure parallelism with the other upstream feed roller 33a. As a result, when the paper sheet 32 is sandwiched between the rollers 33a and 33a, the paper sheet 32 can be reliably fed.

  Next, in FIG. 15, the inclined guide portion 44 extends in the direction of the upstream feed roller 33 a and extends gradually away from the blower pipe 22, and a stopper 50 is formed at the end. Further, on the downstream side of the inclined guide portion 44, a bag-like portion 90 is formed that extends in the direction of the downstream feed roller 33a and gradually abruptly separates from the blower tube 22.

The operation of the bending apparatus 30 will be described with reference to FIG.
FIG. 17A shows a state in which a paper sheet (banknote) is inserted into the banknote recognition device 29 and a banknote recognition operation is performed. At this time, the feeding rollers 33a and 33a are not yet rotated.
When the bill recognition operation is performed and the paper sheet is fed out by the feed roller (not shown) in the direction of the feed rollers 33a and 33a, the leading end of the paper sheet 32 moves against the urging force of the spring 47 to move the claw. The piece 45b is rotated and the sensor 48 is turned on.
When this ON signal is input to a control unit (not shown), the control unit drives the drive motor 84 so that both the feeding rollers 33a and 33a rotate in the paper sheet feeding direction (FIG. 17B).

  When the paper sheet 32 is fed by the both feeding rollers 33a and 33a and the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 passes through both the claw pieces 45a and 45b as shown in FIG. 17C, the movable claw piece 45b is spring-loaded. The paper 47 is turned to the original position by the urging force 47, and the paper sheet passage 43 is blocked by both the claw pieces 45a and 45b, and the sensor 48 is turned off again, and this off signal is input to the control unit.

  When the ON signal is input to the control unit, the control unit temporarily stops the drive motor 84 and rotates the drive motor 84 in the reverse direction by a predetermined angle. Thereby, the paper sheet 32 is pulled back a predetermined distance. When the paper sheet 32 is pulled back in this way, the rear end of the paper sheet 32 comes into contact with the inclined guide portion 44, the rear end portion of the paper sheet 32 is pulled back along the inclined guide portion 44, and the rear end is It contacts the stopper 50 (FIG. 17D).

  When the drive motor 84 is further rotated in the reverse direction, the paper sheet 32 gradually enters the bag-like portion 90 on the rear end side, and is formed in a double-fold shape along the inner wall of the bag-like portion 90 (see FIG. 17 (e) to FIG. 17 (g)). When the drive motor 84 is further rotated in the reverse direction, the retracted paper sheet 32 is further one place as the middle part of the paper sheet 32 is curved as shown in FIG. The deformed portion is formed. When the drive motor 84 is further rotated in the reverse direction, the deformation is emphasized. When this state is reached, the drive motor 84 is stopped. The drive motor 84 is formed by a stepping motor, and is set to stop when the required angle reversely rotates.

  Next, the drive motor 84 is rotated forward again. As a result, as shown in FIGS. 17I and 17J, the rear end portion of the folded paper sheet 32 enters between the pair of feed rollers 33a and 33a. When the drive motor 84 is further rotated, the looped folded end of the paper sheet 32 tries to pass between the rollers 33a and 33a. At this time, the resistance force from the paper sheet 32 is reduced by the spring 82. The upstream feed roller 33a rotates against the biasing force in a direction away from the downstream feed roller 33a (FIG. 17 (k)).

As a result, when passing between the rollers 33a and 33a, an appropriate pressing force is applied to the looped folded end of the paper sheet 32, and the rear end of the paper sheet is as shown in FIG. Then, it is deformed so as to be convex toward the feeding rollers 33a and 33a in a considerably strong state. However, when the loop-shaped folding end passes, one feeding roller 33a escapes, so that a complete broken line is not formed at the loop end. When the paper sheet 32 is a banknote, if a complete broken line is formed, it becomes difficult to restore, but this is not preferable, but in this embodiment, a strong deformed part is formed but a complete broken line is formed. There is no.
As shown in FIG. 17 (l), it can be seen that the paper sheet 32 is deformed at two locations to form a deformed portion having a zigzag shape as a whole.

  When the looped folded end of the paper sheet 32 passes, the upstream feed roller 33a rotates against the urging force of the spring 82 in a direction away from the downstream feed roller 33a. The urging force of the spring 82 and the L-shaped angle of the swing arm 80 are set. On the other hand, when the upstream feed roller 33a in FIGS. 17D to 17G is reversely rotated, the frictional force from the paper sheet 32 causes the upstream feed roller 33a to move downstream. The L-shaped angle of the swing arm 80 and the like are set so that the action of pressing against the feed roller 33a works.

  In the above-described embodiment, the upstream feed roller 33a is swingably provided. Conversely, the downstream feed roller 33a is swingably provided, and the positional relationship between the stopper 50 and the bag-like portion 90 is as described above. In addition, the inclination direction of the inclination guide part 44 is also formed to be opposite to the above, and the rear end part of the paper sheet 32 is deformed so as to be concave toward the feed rollers 33a and 33a. Also good.

Next, details of the collection device 34 for the paper sheets 32 will be described with reference to FIGS.
The collection device 34 is detachably attached to the terminal end of the blower tube 22 and collects paper sheets (banknotes) 32 conveyed through the blower tube 22.
An unloading roller 52 is provided at an intermediate portion of the collecting device 34, sandwiches the surface of the conveyed paper sheet 32 from both sides, and sends it out toward the slit passage 54. The carry-out rollers 52 are divided into four pairs as shown in FIG. 19 so as to sandwich both sides of the paper sheet 32 over the entire width of the paper sheet 32.

A pair of sandwiching rollers 56 are provided on the front side of the carry-out roller 52. The sandwiching rollers 56 are provided only for a pair because they first sandwich the leading end of the paper sheet 32 conveyed in various postures in the blower tube 22.
Reference numeral 58 denotes a rib which is continuous with the rib 40 in the blower pipe 22 and is formed so as to gradually increase in height toward the sandwiching roller 56. The distance between the leading ends of 58 is such a narrow distance that the sheet 32 is allowed to pass through, so that the leading end of the sheet 32 is securely inserted between the rollers 56. Reference numeral 60 denotes a discharge pipe which discharges only the air flow from the gap between the ribs 58 to the outside. The discharge pipe 60 is connected to the return pipe 36 so that the air flow is returned to the blower 24. Thereby, a part of the air flow is circulated and blown.
Note that the air flow may be discharged from the discharge pipe 60 to the outside instead of being returned to the blower 24.

A collection box 55 is provided in front of the carry-out roller 52.
In the collection box 55, a first roller 62 is disposed that is located at the exit of the slit passage 54 and sandwiches the leading end of the paper sheet 32 that is fed into the slit passage 54 by the carry-out roller 52. . In addition, a second roller 64 is disposed in the direction orthogonal to the first roller 62 in the vicinity of the first roller 62. Further, a third roller 66 is disposed in front of the second roller 64. In addition, guide plates 67 are disposed on both sides of the first roller 62, the second roller 64, and the third roller 66, respectively, and are bent at right angles at the portion of the second roller 64. Each guide plate 67 is constituted by two parallel plates, and a side edge portion of the paper sheet 32 is guided between the two plates so as to pass therethrough.
The first, second, and third rollers 62, 64, and 66 constitute a correction roller.

The leading edge of the paper sheet 32 sent through the slit passage 54 is further advanced by being sandwiched by the first roller 62, and both edges are guided by the guide plate 67, so that the second roller 64 receives the paper. It is caught. The paper sheet 32 is further guided by the guide plate 67, sandwiched between the third rollers 66, and sent into the collection box 55. The guide plate 67 is bent in a right angle direction that is opposite to the deformation direction of the deformation portion 32 b of the paper sheet 32. Therefore, when the paper sheet 32 passes through the second roller 64, the deformed portion 32b is bent in a direction opposite to the deformation direction, the deformation is corrected, and the paper sheet 32 is recovered as a flat paper sheet 32. It is collected in the box 55.
The deformed portion 32b of the paper sheet 32 is only temporarily deformed by the bending device 30 and is forcibly bent in the reverse direction by the second roller 64 of the correction roller, so that the deformation is easily corrected. The

20 and 21 show another embodiment of the collecting device 34 for the paper sheets 32, FIG. 20 is a plan view, and FIG. 21 is a front view.
In the figure, 94 is a paper sheet separating unit, 96 is a paper sheet correcting unit, and 98 is a paper sheet storing unit.
The paper sheet separating unit 94 is provided at the end portion of the blower pipe 22 and separates the paper sheet 32 and the air flow. A paper sheet detection sensor 99 is disposed at the entrance of the paper sheet separator 94. A pair of conveying belts 100 is disposed in the paper sheet separating unit 94. 101 is the drive motor. The conveying belt 100 is arranged so that the opposite conveying surface gradually narrows in a V shape, and can sandwich the paper sheet 32 conveyed in the blower tube 22 and send it to the front paper sheet correction unit 96. It has become.

Note that a one-way clutch mechanism (not shown) is inserted in the pulley 103 around which the conveyor belt 100 is wound, and the paper sheet 32 is pulled out in the direction of the paper sheet correction section 96 even when the separation section motor 101 is stopped. It is possible.
Reference numeral 60 denotes a discharge pipe which discharges only the air flow to the outside. The discharge pipe 60 is connected to the return pipe 36 so that the air flow is returned to the blower 24. Thereby, a part of the air flow is circulated and blown.
Note that the air flow may be discharged from the discharge pipe 60 to the outside instead of being returned to the blower 24. Reference numeral 106 denotes a guide plate.

A pair of parallel guide plates 107 are arranged in front of the conveyance belt 100 to guide the paper sheet 32 to the paper sheet correction unit 96.
An entrance sensor 102 is disposed at the entrance of the sheet corrector 96. In the paper sheet correction unit 96, four correction rollers are arranged with a gap that allows the paper sheets to pass between the four correction rollers 104 and the adjacent one. A guide plate 108 having an arcuate cross section is disposed so as to cover the outer periphery of each correction roller 104 so as to form a certain sheet conveyance space between the outer peripheral surface of each correction roller 104.

  Reference numeral 105 denotes a drive motor for driving the correction roller 104. When the rotation shaft of the correction unit motor 105 and the gears fixed to the rotation shafts of the four correction rollers 104 are sequentially engaged with each other, the adjacent correction rollers 104 are rotated in opposite directions. As a result, the paper sheets 32 that have entered between the correction rollers 104 are conveyed in a zigzag shape, bent in the reverse direction sequentially, are corrected in bending, and sent to the inlet side of the paper sheet storage unit 98.

An end detection switch 110 and a pair of transport rollers 111 are disposed at the entrance of the paper sheet storage unit 98.
The paper sheet storage unit 98 is partitioned into two chambers, a first chamber 113 and a second chamber 114, by a press plate 112. The press plate 112 can be moved in the paper sheet storage unit 98 by the storage unit motor 115. When the press plate 112 is moved to one position (front side in FIG. 20), the second chamber 114 is opened from the entrance. The paper sheet 32 can be fed into the first chamber 113, and when moved to the other side (back side), the paper sheet 32 can be fed into the first chamber 113.
Reference numeral 116 denotes a receiving plate disposed in the first and second chambers 113 and 114 and is received by a spring 117.

Subsequently, the operation of the present embodiment will be described.
When the paper sheet detection sensor 99 detects that the paper sheet 32 has arrived, the separation unit motor 101 is driven, the transport belt 100 is driven, and the paper sheet 32 is sent to the paper sheet correction unit 96. When the paper sheet 32 is detected by the entrance sensor 102, the separation unit motor 101 is stopped, while the correction unit motor 105 is driven to rotate the four correction rollers 104, and the paper sheet 32 is positioned between the correction rollers 104. The sheet is bent several times in the front and back direction in the meantime, and is fed into the paper sheet storage unit 98 in a state where the bending is corrected thereby. When the end of the paper sheet 32 is detected by the end detection switch 110, the correction unit motor 105 is stopped. The conveyance roller 111 is driven or stopped together with the correction roller 104.

  In the paper sheet storage unit 98, the press plate 112 is moved in one direction (the back side in FIG. 20), and the paper sheet 32 is carried into the first chamber 113 from the entrance. When it is detected by the end detection switch 110 that the rear end of the paper sheet 32 has passed, the storage unit motor 115 is driven, the press plate 112 moves inward in the first chamber 113, and the paper sheet on the receiving plate 116. Press class 32. In this state, the press plate 112 is stopped, and the sheet 32 can be fed into the second chamber 114 from the entrance, and the sheet 32 fed next is fed into the second chamber 114. , Housed. In this way, the sheets 32 are sequentially taken into the first chamber 113 and the second chamber 114 and stored.

  As described above, the press plate 112 is moved and the sheets 32 are alternately accommodated in the first chamber 113 and the second chamber 114, so that the press plate 112 is reciprocated each time. There is no need and the tact time can be shortened. It should be noted that the paper sheet storage unit 98 may be a single storage room and may be a normal storage unit that takes in the paper sheet by reciprocating the press plate each time.

Next, when the paper sheet 32 is conveyed by an air flow, it is assumed that the front and rear paper sheets 32 overlap each other and move.
When the leading edge of the preceding paper sheet 32 is detected by the inlet sensor 102, the separation unit motor 101 is stopped. On the other hand, the correction unit motor 105 is driven, whereby the preceding paper sheet 32 is fed forward by the correction roller 104. Even when the rear side of the preceding paper sheet 32 is sandwiched between the conveying belts 100, the one-way clutch is inserted in the pulley 103, so that the preceding paper sheets 32 can come out of the conveying belt 100 without any trouble, It is fed together with the paper sheet 32 that moves forward.

When the preceding paper sheet 32 exits the transport belt 100, the preceding paper sheet 32 is separated from the following paper sheet 32. The following paper sheets 32 are further fed forward by the conveying belt 100 when the following paper sheets 32 are detected by the banknote detection sensor 99 to drive the separation unit motor 101.
When the following paper sheet 32 reaches the correction roller 104 together with the preceding paper sheet 32, it is conveyed while being overlapped by the correction roller 104 and stored in the paper sheet storage unit 98. Is done.

Next, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the bent portion 23 is provided in the blower tube 22, and the paper sheet 32 is conveyed by making a U-turn so that one flat surface portion of the paper sheet 32 is inside. An example of recovery is shown. In this case, the radius of curvature of the bent portion 23 is small.
However, depending on the arrangement space of the blower tube 22, it may be necessary to change the direction of the paper sheet 32 so that the end face side in the width direction of the paper sheet 32 is on the inside. However, in this case, as shown in FIG. 22, there is a problem that the radius of curvature of the bent portion of the blower tube 22 becomes extremely large and the space efficiency becomes very poor.

FIG. 23 shows means that can cope with such a case.
That is, in the present embodiment, the twisted tube 68 is formed by twisting with a required angle (90 degrees in the case of FIG. 23) with respect to the axis of the blower tube 22. In addition, the rib same as the rib 40 provided in the wall surface of the ventilation pipe 22 is formed also in the wall surface of the twisted pipe 68, and this rib itself is also twisted at the same angle, but illustration in FIG. 23 was abbreviate | omitted. If the twisted pipe 68 is connected to the straight portion of the blower pipe 22, the direction of the paper sheet 32 can be changed in a direction twisted 90 degrees.

  FIG. 24 shows a bent tube 23 that can transport the paper sheet 32 in a direction bent 90 degrees so that one surface thereof is on the inside. The rib 40 of the bent tube 23 is formed so that the height gradually decreases from the required upstream side of the bent portion 23 to the inlet portion of the bent portion 23, similarly to the bent portion 23 of FIG. 1. The rib 40 is formed so that its height gradually increases from the inlet to the required downstream side. Further, it is preferable that the rib 40 on the outer wall surface of the bent portion 23 is formed so that the height gradually increases from the upstream side to the bent portion of the bent portion 23 and gradually decreases from the bent portion to the downstream side. It is.

  If the twisted pipe 68 shown in FIG. 23 and the bent pipe 23 shown in FIG. 24 are connected to the straight pipe portion of the blower pipe 22, the paper sheets 32 can be made to have a small radius of curvature and, as a result, the paper sheets of the straight pipe portion. An air duct that can be changed in direction so that the end face side in the width direction of the paper sheet 32 is on the inner side of the paper sheet 32 can be formed. By arbitrarily setting the twist angle of the twist pipe 68 and the bend angle of the bent pipe 23, it is possible to form a blower duct that is bent with a small radius of curvature in an arbitrary direction.

Next, in the case where the paper sheet 32 is jammed in the blower tube 22, a method for eliminating the jam according to the present invention will be described in detail together with the apparatus.
In the present invention, in a method of transporting a paper sheet in a blower pipe using a paper sheet transport device having a blower pipe and an airflow generating device for generating an airflow in the blower pipe, a paper sheet in the blower pipe is used. When a paper jam occurs, physical force is applied to the paper sheet to promote the movement of the paper sheet, thereby eliminating the paper sheet jam.

[First Embodiment]
The first embodiment is characterized in that a physical force is applied to the paper sheet by changing the wind speed of the air flow generated in the blower tube by the air flow generator.
Specifically, the rotational speed of the air blower (blower) 24, which is an airflow generator, is changed to change the wind speed of the airflow. That is, as shown in FIG. 25, by changing the rotation speed of the drive motor 200 of the blower unit 24 via the inverter 201, the amount of air per unit time flowing in the blower pipe 22 can be changed. Therefore, this can change the wind speed of the air flow. Reference numeral 202 denotes a control unit.

  As described above, the wind pressure acting on the paper sheets 32 jammed in the blower tube 22 can be changed by changing the wind speed of the airflow flowing in the blower tube 22. The paper sheets 32 that are caught by the outlet side of the feed rollers 33a and 33a, the ribs 40, and the like are fluctuated, and thereby the catches are released, and the paper sheets 32 are moved into the blower tube 22. be able to.

  Note that changing the wind speed means increasing or decreasing the wind speed when the paper sheet 32 is transported. Alternatively, it is more preferable to alternately increase or decrease the wind speed. Whether or not the paper sheet 32 has started moving in the blower tube 22 is detected by a sensor provided in the blower tube 22 as appropriate. When the paper sheet 32 starts to move, the air blower 24 returns the air to the normal state.

As another example of changing the wind speed of the air flow in the blow pipe 22, a valve for opening and closing the duct of the blow pipe 22 is provided, and the flow speed of the air flow is changed by changing the flow passage area of the blow pipe by the valve. It may be changed.
An example of the valve 204 is shown in FIGS.
The valve 204 has five valve blades 206 attached to a shaft 205 that passes through the blower pipe 22. The shaft 205 is rotated in the forward direction and the reverse direction by a drive motor 207 provided outside the blower tube 22. Each valve blade 206 rotates within the interval between adjacent ribs 40.

  As described above, by rotating the valve blade 206 in the air blowing tube 22, the flow passage area of the air blowing tube 22 can be changed, and thereby the air velocity of the air flow can be changed. Clogging of the paper sheets 32 is likely to occur in the vicinity of the feeding device 28, the bent portion 23 of the blower tube 22, and the like, so the valve 204 may be disposed at a site where clogging is likely to occur. In addition, although the change of the wind speed by the valve 204 is made to produce in a part of blast pipe 22, in this invention, the change of the wind speed in such a part is also included.

  Next, as another method for applying a physical force to the paper sheet, as shown in FIGS. 28 and 29, the outside air introduction hole 208 provided in the air blowing pipe 22 is opened and closed by a valve to open the air blowing pipe 22. It is possible to cause physical force to act on the paper sheets by causing the outside air to flow into the air to generate turbulence in the air flow.

  In FIG. 28, a valve body 211 is provided on one projecting piece 210 a of a rotating piece 210 provided to be rotatable about a shaft 209, and this one projecting piece 210 a is urged by a spring 212 to be operated by the valve body 211. The outside air introduction hole 208 is closed, and the other protruding piece 210b is attracted against the urging force of the spring 212 by the electromagnet 213 so that the turning piece 210 can be rotated to open the outside air introduction hole 208. ing. The electromagnet 213 is intermittently driven to open and close the outside air introduction hole 208, and the outside air is intermittently introduced into the blower pipe 22, thereby generating a turbulent flow in the airflow flowing through the blower pipe 22. The turbulence of the flow can be physically applied to the jammed paper sheet, thereby eliminating the jam.

  In the case of FIG. 29, the valve body 211 is attached to the tip of the iron core 215 of the electromagnetic solenoid 214, and the valve body 211 is normally pressed against the outside air introduction hole 208 by a built-in spring and closed, and the electromagnetic solenoid 214 is driven. The outside air introduction hole 108 can be opened by sucking the iron core 215. Even in the case of FIG. 29, the electromagnetic solenoid 214 is intermittently driven to open and close the outside air introduction hole 208 to allow the outside air to flow into the blower pipe 22 to generate turbulence in the air flow. It is possible to physically act on the jammed paper sheet, thereby eliminating the jam.

Next, as another method of applying a physical force to the paper sheet, the flow direction of the air flow in the blower pipe may be reversed.
FIG. 30 shows an example of an apparatus that can reverse the flow direction of the air flow in the blower tube 22. In this apparatus, two short-circuited tubes 218 and 219 are connected so as to cross between the forward passage tube 22a exiting from the blower 24 and the return tube 22b returning to the blower 24.

Valves 220 and 221 are disposed on both short-path pipes 218 and 219, respectively. In addition, valves 222 and 223 are also arranged at the positions of the forward path pipe 22a and the return path pipe 22b at the middle positions where the short path pipes 218 and 219 are respectively connected.
By closing the valves 220 and 221 and opening the valves 222 and 223, an air flow can be made to flow in the normal direction in the blower pipe 22.
On the other hand, the flow of the air flow can be reversed by opening the valves 220 and 221 and closing the valves 222 and 223.
By reversing the air flow in this way, physical force can be applied to the jammed paper sheet 32, and the jam can be eliminated.
In the above description, the methods shown in FIGS. 25, 26, 28 (or 29), and 30 are individually described. However, it is needless to say that these methods may be used in appropriate combination.

[Second Embodiment]
In the above, the flow of the air flow is changed in various ways so that a physical force is applied to the paper sheets from the air flow. The catching piece 230 that is movable by the flowing air flow may be caused to flow, and the jammed paper sheet 32 may be hooked and moved on the catching portion of the catching piece 230 to eliminate the jamming.

FIG. 31 is an explanatory view showing an example of the hook piece 230.
The hooking piece 230 is formed in a rectangular shape that is substantially the same shape as the paper sheet 32.
The hooking portion 231 provided on the hooking piece 230 is a bent piece that bends in the opposite direction toward the pair of wall portions 22a and 22a (FIG. 2) facing the air duct 22 on the rear side of the hooking piece 230. 232 is formed. In addition, a plurality of convex portions 234 projecting forward are formed at the front end portion of the hooking piece 230. In addition, the convex part 234 should just have one or more places, and it is good to provide 2-3 places suitably in a symmetrical position.

In the example shown in FIG. 31, each of the bent pieces 232 is divided into a plurality (five pieces), and each of the divided pieces (bent pieces) 232 is adjacent to the blower pipe 22 when the hook piece 230 is inserted into the blower pipe 22. It is provided so as to be able to pass between the rib 40 and the rib 40.
Note that the number of the bent pieces 232 is not limited to five, and may be one bent piece as long as it can pass between the ribs 40 in some cases.

  Moreover, the edge part of each bending piece 232 is formed in the shape of a saw blade. In addition, each bent piece 232 is twisted so that the bent surface where the bent piece 232 bends in the direction of the walls 22a and 22a becomes a spiral surface (the bent piece 232 is twisted around its own axis. ). Thereby, the saw blade part at the edge of the bent piece 232 is easily hooked on the edge of the paper sheet 32, and the paper sheet 32 in a clogged state moves together with the hook piece 230 in the air duct 22. It will be.

In addition, the edge part of the bending piece 232 does not necessarily need to be formed in a saw blade shape.
32 and 33 show another example of the bent piece 232. In the example shown in FIG. 32, the bent piece 232 is simply bent in a round shape, and the bent piece 232 is bent in a hook shape in the example shown in FIG. In short, the shape of the bent piece 232 may be any shape as long as the bent piece 232 can be moved by hooking the jammed paper sheet 32.
The hooking piece 230 may be formed by processing a sheet material having elasticity such as a resin material. The bent pieces 232 are bent (curved) in directions opposite to each other and are crushed into a substantially flat sheet shape by being pressed, but return to be bent again by an elastic force when the pressing force is released.

Next, a method for clearing the jammed state of the paper sheet 32 by the hooking piece 230 will be described.
When the jammed state of the paper sheet 32 is detected by the sensor, the hook piece 230 is fed into the blower tube 22. For example, as shown in FIG. 34, the hook piece 230 is fed into the uppermost stream portion of the blower tube 22 from the inlet 236, as shown in FIG. The inlet 236 is provided in the air duct in the collection unit 34. For example, an opening (not shown) is provided at an appropriate position of the connecting pipe 26 in FIG. 1, and a lid (not shown) that opens and closes the opening. ) Is used as the insertion port 236. The lid is opened, the hooking piece 230 is manually fed into the blower tube 22 from the opening, the opening is closed again by the lid, and the hooking piece 230 is moved in the blower pipe 22 by the air flow. That's fine.

Like the paper sheets 32, the hooking piece 230 is formed with a bent piece 232 that bends outward on the rear side, so that it receives the wind pressure from the air flow and moves inside the blower pipe 22. is there. When the hooking piece 230 arrives at the position of the jammed paper sheet 32, the paper sheet 32 is hooked by the saw blade portion of the bent piece 232, so that the paper sheet 32 is brought together with the hooking piece 230. It moves in the air duct 22 toward the downstream.
Note that the bent piece 232 of the hook piece 230 is formed between the rib 40 and the rib 40 and between the rib 40 and the other opposed wall surface 22b, 22b of the rib 40 provided on the one opposed wall surface 22a, 22a of the blower pipe 22. In the example shown in the figure, the bent piece 232 occupies the entire pipe cross-section space, and maximizes the sealing degree of the pipe cross-section space. Since the area receiving the wind pressure is increased, the hooking piece 232 itself can be moved smoothly through the air duct 22. Further, since the bent piece 232 has moderate elasticity, it does not extend or shrink due to wind pressure (having an elastic force much stronger than the elastic force of the paper sheet 32). As a result, the jammed paper sheets can be reliably caught, the drag from the paper sheets 32 is not extended or deformed, the wind force is received to the maximum, and the jam is removed.

For example, the hook piece 230 that moves in the blower pipe 22 with the paper sheet 32 hooked is taken out as follows.
That is, the catching piece 230 and the paper sheet 32 are separated by the collecting device 34 provided at the end of the blower tube 22, and the paper sheet 32 is collected by the collecting device 34 and the hooking piece 230 is separately collected.
For example, as shown in FIGS. 34 to 36, a groove 239 into which a convex portion 234 provided at the front end portion of the hooking piece 230 enters a guide portion (guide plate) 107 that guides the paper sheet 32 in the collection device 34. A receiving portion 238 having the above is provided (FIG. 35). The receiving portion 238 receives the outer guide at the bent portion 242 where the guide portion 107 bends in the direction of the correction roller 104, and is provided to be rotatable about the shaft 240. The bent portion 242 is provided with the groove 239. (FIG. 35).

FIG. 34 shows a state where the receiving portion 238 rotates outward about the shaft 240 and the guide portion 107 is opened. FIG. 36 closes the receiving portion 238 and feeds the paper sheet 32 toward the correction roller 104. The state where the guide passage was formed is shown. The receiving portion 238 is normally urged by a spring (not shown) to form a guide passage shown in FIG.
When the hooking piece 230 on which the paper sheet 32 is hooked moves to the receiving portion 238, the protruding portion 234 of the hooking piece 230 enters the groove 239 so that the hooking piece 230 is received by the receiving portion 238 and stops. On the other hand, the leading edge of the paper sheet 32 is separated because it is nipped by the correction roller 104 (FIG. 20) and conveyed forward, and collected in the paper sheet storage unit 98.

  In the above case, the hooking piece 230 is sufficiently shorter than the paper sheet 32, and when the hooking piece 230 is stopped at the receiving portion, the leading end of the paper sheet 32 is clamped by the correction roller 104. It must be in such a length relationship and positional relationship. In addition, in FIG. 34, separation is possible only when the hook piece 230 is on the left side and the paper sheet 32 is on the right side and enters between the guide portions (guide plates) 107.

  In FIG. 34, when the catch piece 230 enters the right side and the paper sheet 32 enters the left side of the guide plate 107, the paper sheet 32 is longer, so that the groove 239 of the receiving portion 238 is first. Therefore, the hooking piece 230 is collected together with the paper sheet 32 into the paper sheet storage unit 98 through the correction roller 104.

Since such a situation is assumed, in FIG. 34, a guide plate (not shown) that is bent to the opposite side of the guide plate 107 is provided on the downstream side of the guide plate 107 that is bent to the right. The guide plate may be provided with a receiving portion (not shown) having a groove into which the convex portion 232 of the hooking piece 230 enters. In this way, the hook piece 230 is stopped at any of the receiving portions and can be separated from the paper sheet 32.
The hooking piece 230 received in the groove 239 of the receiving part 238 opens the receiving part 238 outwardly against the urging force of the spring when the hooking piece 230 hits, and is dropped and recovered by its own weight. Alternatively, the catching piece 230 may be collected by manually opening the receiving portion 238 outward.

By doing as described above, the hooking piece 230 can be collected almost automatically.
In addition, you may make it collect | recover manually the hook piece 230 and the paper sheets 32 in the collection | recovery apparatus 34. FIG.
In this case, the length of the hooking piece 230 is set to be longer than the length of the paper sheet 32. Then, first, the convex portion 234 of the hook piece 230 enters the groove 239 of the receiving portion 238 of the guide plate 107 and stops at that position together with the paper sheet 32. Therefore, it is only necessary to open the receiving portion 238 outward and take out the hooking piece 230 and the paper sheet 32 manually.

In the above description, the hooking piece 230 is fed into the uppermost stream portion of the blower pipe 22 from the insertion port 236. However, the hooking piece 230 may be fed into the blower pipe 22 from the feeding device 28 that feeds the paper sheets 32. it can.
In the feeding device 28, the bill recognition device 29 is disposed on the front side and the bending device 30 is disposed on the back side. In this case, the bill recognition device 29 identifies the catch piece 230 at the same time as identifying the bill. When it is possible to recognize that it is the hooking piece 230, the feeding roller (not shown) is driven to feed the hooking piece 230 to the bending device 30.

  In addition, a required reading pattern is formed on the surface of the hooking piece 230 so that the banknote identification device 29 can identify it as the hooking piece 230, and this reading pattern is previously stored in the storage unit of the banknote identification device 29. When the pattern that is stored and read by the banknote identification device 29 matches the stored pattern, the banknote identification device 29 sends the catch piece 230 to the bending device 30. This identification system is the same as in the case of banknotes.

However, in the case of the hooking piece 230, the bending roller 30 rotates the feeding rollers 33a and 33a in the reverse direction, and the bending operation as described above is not performed, and the hooking pieces 33a and 33a directly enter the blowing pipe 22 into the hooking piece 22. 230 is sent. This series of operations is performed by the control unit.
The hooking piece 230 may be fed into the blower tube 22 from the most upstream feeding device 28, but the hooking piece 230 is put into the blower tube 22 from the feeding device 28 immediately upstream of the portion where the paper sheet 32 is clogged. You may make it send.

Further, the hook piece 230 may be fed into the blower pipe 22 not from the most upstream part of the blower pipe 22 or the feeding device 28 but from the middle part of the blower pipe 22.
In this case, for example, as shown in FIG. 37, an opening is provided at the uppermost stream portion of the blower tube 22, a lid 245 that can be opened and closed is provided, and the lid 245 is opened to blow air from the opening. The hook piece 230 may be manually fed into the tube 22.
The lid 245 and the opening can be easily sealed by attaching the sealing material 160 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 so as to cover the lid 245 and the air duct 22.
In addition, a plurality of openings that are opened and closed by the lid 245 may be provided at appropriate positions of the blower tube 22.

Moreover, taking out of the hooking piece 230 that moves in the blower tube 22 while the paper sheet 32 is hooked may be performed as follows, for example, not in the collecting device 34.
That is, a through-hole (not shown) that is normally closed with an appropriate plug (not shown) or the like is formed on the wall surface of the blower pipe 22, and when the catch piece 230 is collected, A stopper member (not shown) is inserted into 22 and the hook piece 230 flowing through the blower pipe 22 is brought into contact with the stopper member and stopped. Then, an opening (not shown) provided near the through-hole and opened / closed by a lid similar to that shown in FIG. 37 is opened to open the air duct 22, and the hook piece 230 together with the paper sheets 32. To collect. This collection position can also be performed at an appropriate position.

[Third Embodiment]
In the above description, the catch piece 230 is caused to flow in the blower pipe 22 and the paper sheets 32 are hooked on the catch piece 230 to eliminate the clogging. However, the catch piece having the catch portion is fixed in the blower pipe 22. It is also possible to make the robot run by itself and move the inside of the air duct 22 by hooking the jammed paper sheet 32 to the hooking portion of the hooking piece.

FIG. 38 is an explanatory diagram of the robot 250.
The robot 250 is provided with a traveling unit 251 having an endless track at the upper and lower portions thereof, and the traveling unit 251 contacts the floor surface or ceiling surface of the air duct 22 and is driven by a driving unit (not shown). It can be moved forward or backward in the blower tube 22. Since the mechanism of such a robot that automatically travels is well known, its details are omitted.

Since the robot 250 automatically travels in the bent air pipe 22, it actually has a structure in which a plurality of block bodies are flexibly connected via a universal joint in the front-rear direction. Such a block body is provided with a self-propelled mechanism so that it can be self-propelled in the air duct 22 while being bent.
The reason why the traveling part 251 consisting of an endless track is provided in the upper and lower parts is that the blower tube 22 may be inverted and turned upside down. Since it contacts the wall surface, it becomes a driving wheel for automatic traveling.

  Further, guide wheels 252 are provided on both side surfaces of the robot 250, and the robot 250 is stably supported by rolling on the ribs 40 using the ribs 40 of the air duct 22 as rails. . Reference numeral 254 denotes a control unit in which a power source, an antenna 255, and the like are incorporated. The robot 250 can automatically run according to a program incorporated in the control unit, or can be run by remote operation.

A hooking piece 230 having a bent piece 232 similar to that shown in FIG. 31 is fixed to the left and right sides of the rear portion of the robot 250 (only one is shown in FIG. 38). Thereby, the paper sheets 32 in the jammed state can be hooked and moved, and the jammed state can be eliminated.
Further, the robot 250 is appropriately equipped with one or a plurality of camera devices (four in the figure) 256 to monitor the inside of the air duct 22 and transmit an image to an external monitor (not shown). As a result, it is possible to check problems such as damage in the air duct 22, defects in the seam, the state of the feeding device 28, and the like.

The camera device 256 can also check the jammed state of the paper sheet 32. When the paper sheet 32 is missed, the robot 250 moves backward and then moves forward so that the paper sheet 32 can be reliably hooked.
The robot 250 can collect the paper sheet 32 and then collect it outside through the opening provided on the air duct 22 so as to be openable and closable by the lid as described above.

  In the above embodiment, an example in which the deformed portion 32b is formed and conveyed on the rear side of the paper sheet 32 has been shown. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the paper sheet can be conveyed without being deformed. In addition, the present invention can be applied when conveying paper sheets by various other methods.

20 Paper Sheet Transfer Device 22 Blower Pipe 23 Bent Section 24 Blower Section (Blower)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 28 Feeding device 29 Bill identification device 30 Bending device 32 Paper sheets 32b Deformation part 33a Feeding roller 34 Collection | recovery apparatus 36 Return pipe 40 Rib 41 Raised part 42 Path | passage opening / closing means 43 Paper sheet path 44 Inclination guide part 45a Fixed claw piece 45b Movable Claw piece 45c Lever 46 Shaft 47 Spring 48 Sensor 49 Press roller 50 Stopper 51 Spring 52 Unloading roller 53 Guide part 54 Slit passage 55 Recovery box 56 Nipping roller 58 Rib 60 Discharge pipe 200 Drive motor 201 Inverter 202 Control part 204 Valve 205 Shaft 206 Valve blade 207 Drive motor 208 Outside air introduction hole 209 Shaft 210 Rotating piece 211 Valve body 213 Electromagnet 214 Electromagnetic solenoid 215 Iron core 230 Hooking piece 231 Hooking part 232 Bending piece 234 Convex part 238 Only parts 239 groove 242 bent portion 245 lid 250 robot 251 track 252 guides ring 254 controller 256 camera device

Claims (8)

In a method of transporting paper sheets in a blower pipe, using a paper sheet transport device having a blower pipe and an airflow generator for generating an airflow in the blower pipe,
When clogging occurs in the paper sheet in the air duct, the physical force is applied to the paper sheet to promote the movement of the paper sheet, and in order to eliminate the clogging of the paper sheet,
The air blow pipe has a hook portion, and a hook piece that can be moved by an air flow flowing in the air blow pipe is flowed, and the jammed paper sheet is hooked on the hook portion of the hook piece and moved. The paper sheet transport method. 2. The paper sheet according to claim 1, wherein the hooking portion is formed on the rear side of the hooking piece as a bent piece that bends in a direction opposite to each other toward a pair of wall portions facing the blower tube. Transport method. A plurality of ribs that protrude inward from the wall surface at a required height and extend in the blowing direction are opposed to the respective wall surfaces of the blower pipes facing both surfaces of the conveyed paper sheet. The paper sheet conveying method according to claim 2, wherein the bent pieces formed and bent in the opposite directions are provided so as to be able to pass through the interval between the adjacent ribs. 4. The paper sheet conveying method according to claim 2, wherein each of the bent pieces bent in opposite directions is divided into a plurality of pieces. The paper sheet conveying method according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein an end edge portion of the bent piece is formed in a saw blade shape. The paper according to any one of claims 2 to 5, wherein the bent piece having an edge formed in a saw blade shape is twisted so that a bent surface of the bent piece becomes a spiral surface. Leaf transportation method. The method for conveying paper sheets according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein the hook piece is fed into the blower pipe from the upstream part of the blower pipe and collected at the downstream part of the blower pipe. A through-hole that is normally closed is formed in the wall portion of the blower pipe, and when the hook piece is collected, a stopper piece is inserted into the blower pipe from the through-hole to flow through the blower pipe. A stopper is brought into contact with the stopper bar and stopped, a lid provided in the vicinity of the through hole is opened to open the blower pipe, and the catching piece is collected together with the paper sheets. The paper sheet conveying method according to any one of the preceding claims.