JP4695468B2 - Paper sheet processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a paper sheet processing apparatus that discriminates and sorts paper sheets such as postal items, and more particularly to a paper sheet processing apparatus that detects two-sheet taking when a conveyance path is long.

Conventionally, in a large apparatus such as a paper sheet processing apparatus that processes mail, a two-sheet picking detection mechanism is used. This type of two-sheet picking-up detection mechanism first measures the length in the transport direction of the paper sheets picked up by the entrance sensor of this two-sheet picking-up detection mechanism. Next, there is a difference between the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt in contact with one surface (for example, the front surface) of the paper sheet and the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt in contact with the other surface (for example, the back surface) of the paper sheet. Then, the paper sheets are conveyed so as to be shifted. Next, the length of the paper sheet in the conveyance direction is measured again by the exit sensor of the two-sheet taking detection mechanism. Based on these measured values, if the following equation (1) holds, it is determined that two sheets are taken. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).
(Lout−Lin) ≧ Ld (1)
Lin: The length of the paper sheet measured at the entrance of the two-sheet taking detection mechanism.
Lout: The length of the paper sheet measured at the exit of the two-sheet taking detection mechanism.
Ld: Allowable value for taking two sheets.
Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-10322 (first page, FIG. 1)

  The conventional two-sheet pick-up detection mechanism described above shifts the two-sheet-taken paper sheets when the paper sheets are the same size or when the surface of the paper sheets has an appropriate frictional force. Therefore, it is possible to detect the two-sheet taking by measuring the length of the paper sheet at the entrance and the exit of the two-sheet taking detecting mechanism.

However, the two-sheet pick-up detection mechanism described in Patent Document 1 has the following problems (1) to (3) because the length of the shift portion is short.
(1) When a small paper sheet is conveyed over a large paper sheet, a difference between the paper sheets is less likely to occur.
(2) Depending on the friction coefficient of the paper sheets, the amount of shift between the two paper sheets may be small.
(3) The two-sheet pick-up detection mechanism has little misalignment between the two sheets, and is not excluded as a two-sheet pick-up. Will hit the transport roller, causing a delay in transport of one paper sheet, or a shift of the paper sheet due to a difference in gripping force of the transport belt, etc. The length may vary. Further, in order to solve this problem, when the difference in the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt that holds the paper sheets is increased, there is a problem that wear with the conveyance bell is increased and the life of the conveyance belt is shortened.

  The present invention has been made in order to solve the above-described problem, and detects two sheets by measuring a change in the length of a paper sheet in the conveyance direction between the upstream side and the downstream side of the conveyance path, It is an object of the present invention to provide a sheet processing apparatus and a two-sheet detection method that reduce misclassification by rejecting (rejecting or OVF) paper sheets determined to be sheet-collecting before collecting them in the classification port.

In order to achieve the above object, a paper sheet stacking apparatus according to claim 1 of the present invention includes a take-out unit that takes out paper sheets one by one, and a transport unit that transports the paper sheets taken out by the take-out unit. And a first two-sheet pick-up detecting means disposed on the upstream side of the conveying means, and a first two-sheet pick-up detecting means arranged downstream of the first two-sheet pick-up detecting means and not detected. A second two-sheet pick-up detecting means for further detecting the two-sheet pick-up of paper sheets, and conveyance / classification for collecting the paper sheets detected by the second two-sheet pick-up detecting means in the reject stacking unit. A control unit, wherein the first two-sheet pick-up detecting means is configured to adjust a conveying speed of the conveying belt that contacts one surface of the paper sheet and a conveying speed of the conveying belt that contacts the other surface of the paper sheet. A shifting mechanism for shifting the paper sheet with a difference, and an entrance of the shifting mechanism The difference in length of the paper sheet measured by the first inlet sensor and the first outlet sensor arranged at the outlet and the first inlet sensor and the second outlet sensor exceeded a predetermined value. A detection control unit that detects when the two sheets are picked up, and the second two-sheet pick-up detecting means is disposed at the entrance of the transport path that is sufficiently longer than the length of the paper sheet being transported. Two inlet sensors and a second outlet sensor disposed at the outlet, a first length measured by the second inlet sensor, and a second length measured by the second outlet sensor. A storage means for storing as a class attribute, a comparison means for comparing the first length stored in the storage means with the second length, and a result of comparison by the comparison means as a result of the first length And 2 when the difference between the second length and the second length exceeds a predetermined value It is characterized in that it includes the sheet taking determination information.

  According to the present invention, when the taken two-sheet paper sheets cannot be detected and removed, the lengths of the conveyed paper sheets are measured on the upstream side and the downstream side of the transport path. Therefore, it is possible to detect two sheets and eliminate them (reject or OVF) by post-conveying, so that misclassification can be reduced.

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

  FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a paper sheet processing apparatus 100 according to an embodiment of the present invention. 1A is a plan view, and FIG. 1B is a front view. A paper sheet processing apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to as an apparatus) includes a pre-processing unit 10 and stacker stacking units 50 and 60 that are post-processing units.

  The pre-processing unit 10 includes a supply unit 1, an extraction unit 2, a two-sheet detection mechanism 25, an exclusion stack unit 3, a pre-barcode reading unit 4, a character recognition unit 5, a delay conveyance unit 6, an IJP printing unit 7, a verifier. It is composed of a fiber cord reading unit 8 and a branching unit 9.

  In the post-processing unit, a stacker stacking unit 50 and a stacker stacking unit 60 each having a sorting slot for sorting paper sheets based on the sorting information of the paper sheets determined by the pre-processing unit are arranged.

  The apparatus 100 configured as described above reads delivery classification information described on a paper sheet by a reading unit (not shown), and recognizes the read delivery classification information by a character recognition unit (character recognition unit) 5. Then, the recognized delivery classification information is barcode-printed on the paper sheet by an IJP (Ink Jet Printer) printing unit 7, and the paper sheet is stacked on stacker stacking units (stacking hands) 50 and 60 each having a classification port. It is a device that accumulates a kind. Also, image information indicating delivery classification information of paper sheets that could not be recognized by the character recognition unit 5 is transmitted to a video coding system (hereinafter referred to as VCS), and based on the image information. When delivery classification information is input by an operator, a bar code is printed by the IJP printing unit 7 during online processing and is accumulated in the stacker accumulating units 50 and 60.

  Hereinafter, the supply unit 1 will be described in detail. When a paper sheet is set in the supply unit 1 and the apparatus is operated by turning on a start switch (not shown) of the operation panel 20, the paper sheet is taken out by the take-out unit 2.

  The taken-out paper sheets are detected by the two-sheet detection mechanism 25 as two-sheet paper sheets, and further, foreign matter-mixed paper sheets and non-standard-size paper sheets are detected. The paper sheets detected here are excluded to the exclusion stacking unit 3, and other paper sheets that can be supplied are various kinds of papers described on the paper sheets by the pre-barcode reading unit 4 and the character recognition unit 5. The data is recognized and transported to the delay transport unit 6 indicated by the arrow Z1 in the figure.

  The delay conveyance unit 6 performs a VCS process (a process in which an image of the sheet is displayed on the monitor and the operator keys the delivery classification information within a predetermined time) for the sheet that cannot be recognized by the character recognition unit 5. It is a conveyance part for earning money. Therefore, this transport path has a long transport path of 35 to 40 m, and by measuring the length of the paper sheets conveyed at the entrance and exit of this transport path, Two-sheet detection is performed. The paper sheets delayed by the delay transport unit 6 are transported in the direction indicated by the arrow Z2.

  That is, an inlet sensor A that is a first length measuring unit is provided at an upstream side entrance of the delay transport unit 6 as a transport unit configured by a long-distance transport path, and a downstream exit of the delay transport unit 6 is provided. Is provided with an outlet sensor B which is a second length measuring means. Based on the length information measured by the inlet sensor A and the outlet sensor B, two-sheet taking detection described later is performed.

  Delivery classification information is generated and printed as a special-format barcode by the IJP printing unit 7 based on the pre-bar code reading unit 4, the character recognition unit 5 and the VCS key entry information. The printed content is rechecked by the BER fiber code reading unit 8.

  Thereafter, final determination (determination of the final destination stacker) is performed, and in order to accumulate in the determined stacker, a gate (not shown) of the branching unit 9 is operated based on the arrangement position of the stacker, and distribution to each stage is performed. Is done. The sorted paper sheets are conveyed to the first stacker stacking unit 50 and the second stacker stacking unit 60, and are stacked on the corresponding stacker according to the determination of the final destination stacker.

  FIG. 2 is a block diagram relating to a control unit (control means) that controls the apparatus 100. The control unit 30 includes a take-out control unit 31 for controlling the vicinity of the supply / take-out unit, a detection control unit 32, a reading unit interface control unit 33 for exchanging delivery classification information of paper sheets, and barcode printing of the information. (IJP) printing control unit 34, transporting and sorting control unit 35 for transporting and stacking paper sheets to a predetermined stacker, and panel control for displaying paper sheet stacking information and apparatus abnormality information The unit 36 is controlled.

  The detection control unit 32 includes a two-sheet detection mechanism 25, a foreign matter detection control unit 32 for removing foreign matter-mixed paper sheets, and a non-standard-size paper sheet detection unit.

  The transport / classification control unit 35 integrates the motor drive circuit 40 for transporting postal items in a belt, the encoder input circuit 41 for detecting how fast the transport belt is driven, and the above stackers. Gate drive circuit 42, a shift sensor for detecting the drive timing of the gate, full detection sensors (two types) for monitoring the integrated state, and a switch control circuit 43 for detecting an on / off button of the paper card issue switch Have Further, the conveyance / sorting control unit 35 controls the stacker to control the fullness of the stacker and the lamp control circuit for controlling the lighting / extinguishing of the paper tag lamp for instructing the start or removal of the stacker. 44 and an LCD control circuit 45 for displaying integrated information. It also has a memory circuit 46 for holding various information.

The output signal of the remote switch 80 is input to the remote connection terminal. Signal input to the connection pin is read by the switch control circuit 43 is output to the transport and sorting control unit 35. The conveyance / sorting control unit 35 controls the operation / stop of the apparatus according to the input output signal of the remote switch.

FIG. 3 is a diagram for explaining the two-sheet removal detection mechanism 25. The two-sheet pick-up detection mechanism 25 gives a difference between the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt 201 in contact with one surface of the conveyed paper sheet and the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt 202 in contact with the other surface of the paper sheet. A shifting mechanism 210 that shifts the paper sheet, an inlet sensor 203 (first inlet sensor) that is arranged at the entrance of the shifting mechanism 210 and measures the length of the paper sheet in the transport direction, and a shifting mechanism 210 The outlet sensor 204 (first outlet sensor) is disposed at the outlet and measures the length of the paper sheet in the conveyance direction.

  Hereinafter, specific examples will be described with reference to the drawings. In the illustrated example, there is a transport path for transporting the paper sheet with a transport belt 201 having a transport speed of 3.6 m / s and a transport belt 202 having a transport speed of 3.9 m / s in a range of 50 cm. The entrance sensor 203 is disposed at the entrance of the transport path, and the exit sensor 204 is disposed at the exit. The entrance sensor 203 measures the length of the paper sheet at the entrance of the two-sheet detection mechanism. The exit sensor 204 measures the length of the paper sheet at the exit of the two-sheet detection mechanism.

  FIG. 3A shows the paper sheets P1 and P2 shown in the state (B) after the paper sheets P1 and P2 conveyed in the two-sheet pickup state shown in the state (A) pass through the two-sheet pickup detection mechanism 210. The case where it shifted to is shown. In this case, the difference between the lengths of the paper sheets measured by the inlet sensor 203 and the outlet sensor 204 exceeds the permissible value for two sheets, and the two sheets are detected.

  FIG. 3B shows the paper sheets P3 and P4 shown in the state (B) after the paper sheets P3 and P4 conveyed in the two-sheet pickup state shown in the state (A) pass through the two-sheet pickup detection mechanism 210. The case where it shifted to is shown. In this case, the difference between the lengths of the paper sheets measured by the inlet sensor 203 and the outlet sensor 204 is within an allowable value, and the two sheets of the paper sheets are not detected. That is, a case is shown in which even though the two sheets are shifted by the shift mechanism 210, the shift amount is recognized as one with a small shift amount.

  FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining the shift information area of the storage means for storing length information measured at the entrance and exit of the long-distance conveyance path in order to detect two sheets of paper.

  Sensors that detect paper sheets passing through the conveyance path, such as an inlet sensor A provided at the entrance of the delay carrying path 6 and an exit sensor B provided at the exit, are referred to as shift sensors. The length information of the passing paper sheet is managed as shift information for each paper sheet conveyed to the shift information area.

  Note that a plurality of shift sensors are arranged on the transport path, and each shift sensor is assigned a number that identifies each shift sensor. Further, a mail number 301 for specifying the paper sheet is assigned to the paper sheet passing through the shift sensor and managed.

In this embodiment, for each mail number 301, the length of the paper sheet measured by the entrance sensor A ( second entrance sensor ) provided at the entrance of the delay transport path 6 which is a long distance transport path is A The paper sheet length LA (first length) 302 at the point and the length of the paper sheet measured by the outlet sensor B ( second outlet sensor ) provided at the outlet of the delay conveyance path 6 This indicates the length LB (second length) 303 of the paper sheet at the point B, and both are stored as attributes of the mail number 301 in the shift information area which is a storage means.

  The first length described above is the product of length information (unit: time) obtained by counting the passage time when the entrance sensor A is passed from the leading edge to the trailing edge of the paper sheet and the conveyance speed. The length is calculated by calculating. The length LA302 of the illustrated paper sheet is length information obtained by counting the passage time. However, since the length is obtained by performing the above-described calculation, it is treated as a length in the text. The second length is handled in the same manner as the first length.

  FIG. 5 is a flowchart showing a two-sheet picking detection method. The control here is controlled by the transport / sorting control unit 35 shown in FIG. FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining the detection of two sheets based on the present embodiment.

  In the paper sheet processing apparatus 100 according to the present embodiment, the foreign matter is detected in the paper sheet taken out from the take-out unit 2 by the foreign matter detection control unit 32 connected to the detection unit 32, and the non-standard-size paper sheet detection unit (shown in the figure). No), the non-standard-sized paper sheets are detected, and the two-sheet taking detection mechanism 25 detects the two-sheet taking paper sheets. The paper sheets detected in this way are accumulated in the exclusion stacking unit 3. Therefore, the two-sheet taking detection method described below describes a method for further detecting paper sheets that have not been detected by the two-sheet taking detection mechanism 25 described above.

  First, when the paper sheet passes through the shift sensor A (point A), it is performed by counting the passage time of the paper sheet from the front end to the rear end of the paper sheet. In this way, the length LA of the paper sheet at the point A is measured. The measured data is stored in the paper length information area 302 at point A reserved for each mail number in the shift information area (S01).

  Next, when the paper sheet passes through the shift sensor B (point B), the length LB of the paper sheet is measured in the same manner as the length of the paper sheet at the point A (S02). The measured data is stored in the paper length information area 303 at point B reserved for each mail number.

Next, the length LA of the paper sheet and the length LB of the paper sheet stored in the shift information area are compared by the comparison unit. Here, the difference between the length LA of the paper sheet and the length LB of the paper sheet is compared with the two-sheet taking allowable value Ld by the following equation (2) (S03).
| LA-LB | ≧ Ld (2)
LA: Length of paper sheets at point A.
LB: The length of the paper sheet at the point B.
Ld: Allowable value for taking two sheets.

  The reason why the absolute value code is used in the above formula (2) is that the length of the same paper sheet measured at point A and the length LA of the paper sheet measured at point B and the length of the paper sheet measured at point B This is because when the LB is compared, the state is different between the case where the shift is detected by the shift detection unit and the two-shot is detected and the case where the catch-up is detected by the catch-up detection unit and the two-shot is detected. .

For example, if it is determined that the length LB of the paper sheet is longer than the length LA of the paper sheet, the preprocessing portion has been processed as a single paper sheet because of the overlap. This corresponds to a case where the two sheets are shifted in a direction away from each other and become longer. In this case, a deviation is detected, and the two-piece taking is detected by the method of this embodiment.

  On the other hand, when it is determined that the length LB of the paper sheet is shorter than the length LA of the paper sheet, the two sheets of paper that have been processed as one paper sheet in the pre-processing portion. This corresponds to the case where the paper sheet on the back side of the leaf has caught up with the paper sheet on the front. In this case, catch-up is detected, and two-sheet picking is detected by the method of this embodiment.

  Next, as a result of the determination, if a difference greater than or equal to the two-sheet allowance Ld has occurred (y in S03, see FIG. 6), “1” is set to the most significant BIT of the mail number (S04).

  Step No. As a result of the determination in S03, if there is no difference equal to or greater than the two-sheet taking allowable value Ld (n in S03), “0” is set in the most significant bit of the mail number.

Next, the two-sheet picking determination information added to the mail number is also shifted in the downstream transport unit. When the transport / sorting control unit accumulates the information on the stacker stacking unit, this determination information is checked and When take determination information is set, it is accumulated in an OVF (reject accumulator) to reduce misclassification caused by taking two images.

  In addition, the transport control of paper sheets tracks whether the transport has been carried out normally by blocking the sensors set in the transport path, or whether the paper sheets have overlapped due to catch-up and disappeared from the transport path. Processing is in progress. In this way, even if two sheets are detected as being picked up or if two sheets overlap each other due to catch-up, the subsequent sheets block the transport path sensor. Since the tracking of the conveyance is performed, the sheet is conveyed and sorted without being affected by the previously conveyed paper sheets.

The schematic block diagram of the paper sheet processing apparatus by the Example of this invention. The block diagram regarding the control part which controls the paper sheet processing apparatus shown in FIG. The figure explaining a 2 sheet picking detection mechanism. The figure explaining the shift information area which memorize | stores the length information measured at the entrance and exit of a long distance conveyance path. The flowchart which shows the 2 sheet picking detection method. The figure explaining 2 sheet picking detection based on a present Example.

Explanation of symbols

P1, P2, P3, P4 Paper sheets A Inlet sensor B Outlet sensor 1 Supply unit 2 Extraction unit 3 Exclusion stacking unit 4 Plever code reading unit 5 Character recognition unit 6 Delay conveyance unit 7 IJP printing unit 8 Verifiber code reading unit 9 branching unit 20 operating panel 30 control unit 35 transport / sorting control unit 50, 60 stacker stacking unit 90 shift sensor 100 paper sheet stacking unit 200 two-sheet taking detection mechanism 201, 202 transport belt 203 inlet sensor 204 outlet sensor

Claims (3)

A take-out section for taking out paper sheets one by one;
A conveying means for conveying the paper sheet taken out by the take-out unit;
A first two-sheet taking detecting means arranged upstream of the conveying means ;
A second two-sheet detection unit that is disposed downstream of the first two-sheet detection unit and further detects a two-sheet removal of paper sheets that has not been detected by the first two-sheet detection unit;
A transport / sorting control unit that stacks paper sheets detected by the second two-sheet pickup detection unit in the reject stacking unit;
With
The first two-sheet detection means is
A shifting mechanism that shifts the paper sheet with a difference between the conveying speed of the conveying belt in contact with one surface of the paper sheet and the conveying speed of the conveying belt in contact with the other surface of the paper sheet;
A first inlet sensor disposed at the inlet of the shifting mechanism and a first outlet sensor disposed at the outlet;
A detection control unit that detects that two sheets are taken when a difference in length of the paper sheet measured by the first inlet sensor and the second outlet sensor exceeds a predetermined value;
The second two-sheet taking detecting means is
A second inlet sensor disposed at the entrance of the transport path and a second outlet sensor disposed at the exit, which are sufficiently longer than the length of the paper sheet to be transported;
Storage means for storing the first length measured by the second inlet sensor and the second length measured by the second outlet sensor as attributes of the paper sheet;
Comparison means for comparing the first length stored in the storage means with the second length;
As a result of the comparison by the comparison means, two-shot taking determination information that is set when a difference between the first length and the second length exceeds a predetermined value;
A paper sheet processing apparatus comprising: The second two-sheet taking detecting means is
As a result of comparing the first length and the second length by the comparing means, when the second length is longer than the first length, the two sheets are separated from each other. A displacement detection means for detecting that the displacement has become longer;
When the second length is shorter than the first length, it is detected that the paper sheet behind the two paper sheets has caught up with the paper sheet in front of the two sheets, and the length has become shorter. Catch-up detection means;
The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: The storage means
For each paper sheet transported by a plurality of sheets, a paper sheet number assigned to identify the paper sheet,
A first length of the paper sheet measured by the second inlet sensor;
A second length of the paper sheet measured by the second outlet sensor;
Storing the two-sheet taking determination information obtained as a result of comparing the first length and the second length by the comparison unit;
The transport / sorting control unit
2. The paper sheet processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the paper sheets are stacked in the reject and stacking unit based on the two-sheet taking determination information stored in the storage unit for each of the paper sheets. .

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