JP7454828B2 - Conveying device and collating device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a conveying device and a collating device.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, there has been known a conveyance device including a pair of conveyance path members each having two conveyance path members facing each other across a conveyance path through which a plate-shaped object to be conveyed passes.

Patent Document 1 discloses a device having this type of conveyance device configuration, which includes a plurality of conveyance roller pairs as conveyance path member pairs in the conveyance direction of a collation conveyance path, and a paper sheet in which multiple sheets of paper are piled up as conveyed objects. A collating device for transporting bundles is described.
In such a collating device, sheets fed from multiple paper feed units are piled up in a collating conveyance path to form a bundle of sheets, and conveyed downstream in the conveying direction. The thickness of the paper bundle passing through increases.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2016-204134

The collating device does not always feed paper from all paper feed sections; the number of paper feed sections that feed paper may vary depending on the set conditions, and the number of sheets fed to the collation transport path may vary. be. In such a case, the thickness of the sheet bundle passing through the conveyance roller pair located relatively downstream of the collation conveyance path changes depending on the setting conditions. In addition, if the paper fed from the paper feed section includes thick paper or a stack of multiple sheets, the collation conveyance path may vary depending on the type of paper and the thickness of the stack. The thickness of the paper bundle passing through the pair of transport rollers changes. If the thickness of the paper stack passing through the transport roller pair changes, even if a thin paper stack can be transported, when attempting to transport a thick paper stack, the paper stack cannot pass through the transport roller pair, resulting in a jam. , transportability may deteriorate.

Such a problem may occur not only when the conveyed object is a bundle of sheets but also when the conveyed object is a plate-like object whose thickness condition can vary. In addition, the problem may occur not only when the conveyance path member pair is a conveyance roller pair, but also when the conveyance path member pair is a surface moving body other than rollers, or a conveyance path member pair consisting of other members that do not move on the surface, such as a guide member. It is.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, one aspect of the present invention provides a transport device including a transport path member pair having two transport path members facing each other across a transport path through which a plate-shaped object passes. The pair of conveyance path members includes an inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance between the conveyance path members according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of conveyance path members. , comprising a surface moving body pair consisting of two surface moving bodies that sandwich the conveyed object and move the surface, and comprising urging means for biasing one of the two surface moving bodies toward the other; The surface moving body is a roller member that rotates around a rotation axis, and the inter-member distance changing means rotatably holds the roller member and rotates around the rotation axis with respect to the device body. A supported roller holding rotating member engages with the roller holding rotating member and rotates the roller holding rotating member by moving, and the thickness of the conveyed object at the predetermined position is a moving force transmitting member whose movement amount varies depending on the movement of the moving force transmitting member, and an engagement portion between the moving force transmitting member and the roller holding rotating member has a long hole in one member and a long hole in the other member. The member is characterized in that it has an engagement pin that engages with the elongated hole .

According to the present invention, there is an excellent effect of suppressing a decrease in transportability when the object to be transported is thick.

1 is a perspective view showing a collating device according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of a collating device. FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of one of the paper feeding units. FIG. 3 is an enlarged schematic diagram showing how the collating and transporting mechanism of the transporting mechanism transports a bundle of sheets. A schematic diagram of a part of the collation conveyance mechanism. 4 is a perspective explanatory diagram of a drive transmission mechanism and a holding mechanism for a pair of vertical conveying rollers inside one of two frames of the housing; FIG. FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of two pairs of vertical conveyance rollers arranged in succession in the collation conveyance mechanism and a holding mechanism therefor. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of two pairs of vertical conveyance rollers in the collation conveyance mechanism before paper passes. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the collating and conveying mechanism in a state in which a thin bundle of sheets has reached a pair of vertical conveying rollers on the downstream side. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the collation and conveyance mechanism in a state where a thick bundle of sheets has reached the nip portion of the pair of upstream vertical conveyance rollers. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of the collation and conveyance mechanism in a state where the sheet bundle is conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 10 and the leading edge of the sheet has passed through the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of the collation and conveyance mechanism in a state where the sheet bundle is conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 11 and the leading edge thereof has reached the downstream vertical conveyance roller. FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of the collating and conveying mechanism in a state where the sheet bundle is conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 12 and the leading edge thereof has passed through the nip portion of the downstream vertical conveyance roller. FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of the collating and conveying mechanism in a state where the sheet bundle is conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 13 and the rear end has passed through the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller. FIG. 3 is an enlarged perspective view of the discharge conveyance mechanism. FIG. 3 is a side view of the ejection conveyance mechanism in a state where a thin bundle of sheets has been conveyed. FIG. 3 is a side view of the discharge conveyance mechanism in a state where a thick bundle of sheets has been conveyed. FIG. 18 is a side view of the ejection conveyance mechanism in a state where the sheet bundle is conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 17 and the leading edge of the sheet has passed through a pair of ejection rollers; FIG. 6 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a modified example of a transport mechanism. FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a media processing device according to a second embodiment. FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a part of a collation and conveyance mechanism that conveys a bundle of sheets under the same conditions regardless of the thickness of the sheet bundle using an arbitrary pair of vertical conveyance rollers. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing the necessary roller diameter size according to the thickness of a bundle of sheets in a pair of vertical conveyance rollers in which the two conveyance rollers are both movable rollers. FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram showing the necessary roller diameter size according to the thickness of a sheet bundle in a pair of discharge rollers, one of which is a movable roller and the other a fixed roller.

Hereinafter, the same or equivalent components, members, and processes shown in each drawing will be denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant explanations will be omitted as appropriate. Further, the dimensions of members in each drawing are shown enlarged or reduced as appropriate to facilitate understanding. Further, in each drawing, some members that are not important for explaining the embodiments are omitted.

<Embodiment 1>
Hereinafter, as a first embodiment (hereinafter referred to as "Embodiment 1"), an embodiment of a collating device including the configuration of a conveying device according to the present invention will be described.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a collating device 10 according to the first embodiment, and FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram showing the internal structure of the collating device 10.
The collating device 10 can be used as a folding advertisement collating machine used to create advertisement bundles to be sandwiched between newspapers at newsagents, etc., or as a selective collating machine for bundling marketing materials such as flyers, pamphlets, and postcards. can.

As shown in FIG. 1, the collating device 10 includes a housing 12 having a front frame 12A and a back frame 12B, and first to twentieth collating paper feed sections (14A to 14N, 14P to 14U). , a folding paper feed section 14</b>X, and a main operation panel 16 . As shown in FIG. 2, the collating device 10 also includes a transport mechanism 21, a folded paper transport plate 26, a folded paper mounting plate pair 28, a folding stopper 30, a folding knife 32, and a folding roller inside the housing 12. A pair 34, a discharge conveyance mechanism 31, and the like are provided. Further, the collating device 10 includes a stacker tray 40 and a control section 50. The discharge conveyance mechanism 31 includes a discharge conveyance belt 36 and a pair of discharge rollers 38 .
As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance mechanism 21 includes a collation conveyance mechanism 24 and a plurality of paper feed conveyance mechanisms 22.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the housing 12 is provided with collated paper feed shelves each having ten stages on the left and right sides. The first to tenth collated paper feed units (14A to 14J) are installed on the shelf on the left side of the housing 12 so as to be lined up in this order from the bottom. Further, the eleventh to twentieth collated paper feed units (14K to 14N, 14P to 14U) are installed on the right shelf of the housing 12 so as to be lined up in this order from the top. Further, the folding sheet feeding section 14X is installed below the first collating sheet feeding section 14A. The paper feed units 14 (A to N, P to X) have substantially the same structure, although they differ in the mounting position and mounting direction to the housing 12, the size of the shelf board, etc.
Hereinafter, when these are expressed collectively or when they are not particularly distinguished, they will simply be referred to as the "sheet feeding section 14."

The paper feed section 14 is removably attached to the housing 12. Specifically, when a lock mechanism (not shown) is released by the user, the paper feeding section 14 is disengaged from the housing 12 and can be removed from the housing 12. Since such an engagement method is well known, a description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of one of the paper feed sections 14. As shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 3, each paper feeding section 14 includes a paper feeding tray 15, a paper presence/absence detection sensor 57, and a paper feeding mechanism 18. Further, the paper feed section 14 has a sub-operation panel 20 next to the paper feed tray 15, as shown in FIG. The sub-operation panel 20 is provided with a plurality of operation buttons for the user to input predetermined operations for paper feeding processing.
As shown in FIG. 3, a paper feed conveyance mechanism 22 corresponding to each paper feed section 14 is provided, and each of the paper feed conveyance mechanisms 22 is provided with a pair of horizontal conveyance rollers 8 and a conveyance direction change guide plate 3.

A plurality of sheets of paper P (advertisements in this embodiment) are stacked on the paper feed tray 15 as a plurality of plate-shaped objects to be transported. A plurality of sheets for sandwiching the bundle of sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 21 are stacked on the sheet feed tray 15 of the folding sheet feed section 14X. The paper feed tray 15 is inclined to become lower as it approaches the paper feed mechanism 18. The paper presence/absence detection sensor 57 is a reflective optical sensor in the first embodiment, and detects whether or not paper is stacked on the paper feed tray 15.

The paper feed mechanism 18 includes a paper feed roller 42 that presses against the top surface of the leading edge of the uppermost paper P among the sheets P stacked on the paper feed tray 15, and a sabbling plate 46 that presses against the paper feed roller 42 from below. Equipped with. Further, an auxiliary paper feed roller 44 is provided for causing the leading edge of the uppermost paper P to enter between the paper feed roller 42 and the cutting board 46 . By driving and rotating the paper feed roller 42 and the auxiliary paper feed roller 44, the uppermost sheet P is advanced in the feeding direction (direction of arrow "α" in FIG. 3).

The uppermost sheet P is separated from the second and subsequent sheets P by the effects of the differences in friction coefficients between the sheet feeding roller 42 and the sheet P, between the sheet P and the scraping plate 46, and between the sheets P. Then, only the top sheet of paper P passes between the paper feed roller 42 and the cutting board 46 and moves forward in the feeding direction. The leading edge of the fed paper P is held between the pair of lateral conveyance rollers 8 of the paper feed conveyance mechanism 22 and conveyed in the horizontal direction, and guided downward by the conveyance direction change guide plate 3 to the collation conveyance mechanism. 24 rotationally driven vertical conveyance roller pair 1, and conveyed downward (in the direction of arrow "β" in FIG. 3).

The collation conveyance mechanism 24 is provided to extend vertically within the housing 12, and the collation conveyance mechanism 24 conveys the paper P conveyed from the paper feed conveyance mechanism 22 downward. The collation conveyance mechanism 24 includes ten pairs of vertical conveyance rollers 1 that convey the paper P, and ten pairs of vertical conveyance guides 2 that guide the paper P that has passed through the nip portion of the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1. The collation conveyance mechanism 24 forms a collation conveyance path 25 by a plurality of pairs of vertical conveyance rollers 1 and a plurality of pairs of vertical conveyance guides 2.

Of the ten pairs of vertical conveyance guides 2, the ones other than the first pair of vertical conveyance guides 2A on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction transport the paper P that has passed through the nip of the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction. It is guided toward the nip portion of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 located on the downstream side in the direction. Further, the first vertical conveyance guide pair 2A guides the paper P that has passed through the nip portion of the first vertical conveyance roller pair 1A toward the nip portion of the folding roller pair 34.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged schematic diagram showing how the collation conveyance mechanism 24 of the conveyance mechanism 21 conveys the sheet bundle Pb. FIG. 4 shows a transport mechanism 21 near the lower three vertical transport roller pairs 1 (first vertical transport roller pair 1A to third vertical transport roller pair 1C) among ten vertical transport roller pairs 1 in the vertical direction. FIG.
As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, a plurality of paper feed conveyance mechanisms 22 are provided corresponding to each of the plurality of paper feed sections 14.

The paper feed mechanism 18 feeds the paper P loaded on the paper feed tray 15 to the paper feed transport mechanism 22 of the transport mechanism 21 based on a signal from the control unit 50 . Hereinafter, sending out the uppermost sheet P of the sheets P stacked on each sheet feed tray 15 will also be referred to as "sheet feeding." In particular, the paper feed mechanism 18 feeds paper at a timing such that the paper fed from the paper feed mechanism 18 of the other paper feed section 14 and the paper to be fed overlap in the collation conveyance mechanism 24 . The paper P fed in this way overlaps the paper P (or paper bundle Pb) transported from above (upstream in the transport direction) at the nip portion of the pair of vertical transport rollers 1, forming a paper bundle Pb. .

In the cross section shown in FIG. 2, the folded paper conveyance plate 26 has an end on the downstream side in the paper conveyance direction (the right side in FIG. On the other hand, it is arranged so as to be located slightly on the upstream side in the sheet conveyance direction (left side in FIG. 2, hereinafter referred to as "folded sheet conveyance upstream side").
The folded sheet mounting plate pair 28 is provided so that the two plates are stacked on top of each other with an interval between them. In the cross section shown in FIG. 2, the folded paper mounting plate pair 28 is arranged such that the end on the upstream side of folded paper conveyance is located slightly to the right of the lower end of the collation conveyance mechanism 24.
The folding stopper 30 is arranged so that the leading end of the paper P guided into the pair of folded paper placement plates 28 comes into contact with the folding stopper 30 . The folding stopper 30 is configured to be movable along the folded paper carrying plate pair 28 to the folded paper transport upstream side and the folded paper transport downstream side (in the left-right direction in FIG. 2) by operating an actuator such as a motor. ing.

When collating a stack of sheets Pb stacked on the folding sheet feeding section 14X (hereinafter referred to as folding sheets), the folding sheets fed from the folding sheet feeding section 14X are transferred to the folding sheet transport plate 26. The sheet is then conveyed towards the pair of folded sheet placement plates 28.
The leading edge of the sheet bundle Pb formed while being conveyed downward by the collation conveyance mechanism 24 hits the folded sheet conveyed to the folded sheet mounting plate pair 28 . The folding knife 32 is moved around the knife rotation shaft 32a as shown in FIG. Rotate clockwise. As a result, the tip of the folding knife 32 hits the top surface of the folded sheet, and presses the bottom surface of the folded sheet toward the pair of folding rollers 34.

In this way, the sheet bundle Pb that has reached the lower end of the collating and conveying mechanism 24 is held by the pair of folding rollers 34 on the lower surface together with the folded sheets placed on the pair of folded sheet mounting plates 28 . Then, the folded sheets placed on the folded sheet mounting plate pair 28 are folded so as to sandwich the sheet bundle Pb, and are conveyed toward the discharge conveyance belt 36.

The discharge conveyance belt 36 further conveys the paper bundle Pb to the downstream side in the conveyance direction (to the left in FIG. 2), and delivers it to a pair of discharge rollers 38. The discharge roller pair 38 discharges the conveyed paper bundle Pb, and the paper bundle Pb is stacked and accumulated on the stacker tray 40. In a setting different from the above-mentioned setting, when the sheet bundle Pb is not sandwiched between the folded sheets, the sheet is not fed from the folding sheet feeding section 14X, and the sheet is formed while being conveyed downward by the collation conveyance mechanism 24. The paper bundle Pb is held between the pair of folding rollers 34 as it is, and is conveyed to the discharge conveyance belt 36.

As shown in FIG. 1, a main operation panel 16 is provided on the front surface of the front frame 12A of the housing 12. As shown in FIG. The main operation panel 16 has a touch panel type liquid crystal display, and allows the user to input predetermined operations for collation processing.
The control unit 50 controls the paper feed unit 14, each transport mechanism, the folding knife 32, and each roller based on the user's input to the main operation panel 16 and each sub-operation panel 20, and performs a predetermined operation. Execute processing.
The control unit 50 executes the collation process of sheets according to, for example, the number of copies specified by the user via the main operation panel 16 (hereinafter also referred to as "set number of copies to collate"), multi-column setting (described later), and the like.

In the collation conveyance mechanism 24, the sheets P are sequentially supplied to the collation conveyance path from the paper feed section 14 located on the upstream side in the conveyance direction, and the sheets P supplied from the plurality of paper feed sections 14 are piled up to form a sheet bundle. Forms Pb. Also, since the paper P fed from the paper feed unit 14 located on the downstream side in the transport direction overlaps the paper bundle Pb passing through the collating transport path, the paper bundle Pb passing through the collating transport path The number of sheets of paper P increases and the thickness increases toward the downstream side.

In the collating device 10, the paper is not always fed from all the paper feed sections 14, but the number of paper feed sections 14 that feed the paper P varies depending on the set conditions, and the number of paper feed sections 14 that feed the paper P varies depending on the set conditions. The number may vary. In such a case, the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb passing through the first vertical conveyance roller pair 1A, second vertical conveyance roller pair 1B, etc. located on the relatively downstream side of the collation conveyance path changes depending on the setting conditions. In addition, when the paper P fed from the paper feed unit 14 includes thick paper or a paper bundle made up of multiple sheets P, the type of paper P and the thickness of the paper bundle may The thickness of the sheet bundle Pb passing through the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 on the collation conveyance path changes. When the thickness of the paper bundle Pb passing through the vertical transport roller pair 1 changes, if the arrangement of the vertical transport roller pair 1 is such that it can transport a thin paper bundle, when trying to transport a thick paper bundle Pb, The paper bundle Pb may not be able to pass through the pair of transport rollers, resulting in a jam or other deterioration in transport performance.

Here, the configuration of the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1, which may cause the above-mentioned problem of decreased conveyance performance, will be described.
FIG. 21 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing a part of the collation and conveyance mechanism 24 that conveys the sheet bundle Pb under the same conditions regardless of the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb using an arbitrary pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1. FIG. 21(a) is an explanatory diagram when the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is small, and FIG. 21(b) is an explanatory diagram when the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is large.

The vertical conveyance roller pair 1 shown in FIG. 21 has a configuration in which the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 are movable left and right in FIG. Each vertical conveyance roller 11 is urged toward the other vertical conveyance roller 11 by a biasing force "Fs" of a roller biasing spring 4 serving as a biasing means. As a result, the vertical conveyance rollers 11 come into contact with each other, forming a nip portion.

As shown in FIG. 21, when the paper bundle Pb comes toward the nip, the leading end of the paper bundle Pb abuts the surfaces of the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the nip. A force "F" acts in a direction perpendicular to the surface of the vertical conveyance roller 11 at the position where the paper bundle Pb makes contact, and a component of this force "F" is applied in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction (hereinafter referred to as the "orthogonal conveyance direction"). A component force "F1" in the transport direction and a component force "F2" in the transport direction act. At this time, component force "F1" acts to widen the interval between the two vertical conveyance rollers 11.

As shown in FIG. 21(a), when the sheet bundle Pb to be conveyed is thin, a virtual tangent on the surface of the vertical conveyance roller 11 is parallel to the conveyance direction, and a position near the closest position of the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 is located. The leading end of the paper bundle Pb comes into contact with the surface of the vertical conveyance roller 11 . The angle between the virtual tangent at this contact position and the virtual line parallel to the conveying direction is small. At this time, the component force "F1" in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance of the force "F" acting in the direction perpendicular to the surface of the contact position increases, and the distance between the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 resists the biasing force "Fs". It is easy to spread out, and good conveyance can be achieved.
On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 21(b), when the sheet bundle Pb to be conveyed is thick, the component force "F1" in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance becomes small, and the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 resist the biasing force "Fs". It becomes difficult to push the distance between If the paper stack Pb cannot be pushed apart, the paper bundle Pb will not be able to pass through the nip portion, resulting in a jam.

An experiment was conducted using a collating device 10 using a roller with a diameter of 50 [mm] as the vertical conveyance roller 11, and it was found that if the thickness of the paper bundle Pb after collation was up to about 10 [mm]. We were able to perform stable transportation. On the other hand, when the thickness of the bundle of sheets Pb after collation exceeds 15 [mm], clogging is likely to occur and conveyance performance is reduced.

In order to prevent such a jam, a configuration may be considered in which the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 are left spaced apart so that the thick paper bundle Pb can pass through. However, with this configuration, when the small (thin) paper bundle Pb reaches the nip portion, the paper bundle Pb cannot be held between the vertical conveyance roller pair 1, and the conveyance force by the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 is reduced. It becomes impossible to properly grant. Further, when conveying the paper bundle Pb in the vertical direction as in the collating device 10, if the paper bundle Pb is not held between the vertical transport roller pair 1, the paper bundle Pb will fall due to gravity, and the transport speed of the paper bundle Pb will be controlled. become unable to do so.

A configuration in which the thickness range of the paper bundle Pb that can be transported can be set broadly with the pair of transport rollers that nip the paper bundle Pb and pass through the nip section is to use a transport roller with a large diameter as the transport roller constituting the pair of transport rollers. It is possible to use it.
However, increasing the diameter of the conveyance roller increases the space required to install the conveyance roller, which causes a problem that leads to an increase in the size of the apparatus. In particular, when the diameter of all the conveyance rollers of the conveyance roller pairs that can pass a thick bundle of sheets is increased in a structure including a plurality of conveyance roller pairs like the collating device 10, the problem of increasing the size of the device becomes more pronounced. becomes.

In FIG. 21, a case has been described in which both of the two conveyance rollers are movable rollers that are movable relative to the apparatus main body and are biased by biasing means. A similar problem may also occur when one of the two conveyance rollers is a movable roller urged by an urging means and the other is a fixed roller fixed to the main body of the apparatus.

FIG. 22 is an explanatory diagram showing the necessary roller diameter φ according to the paper bundle thickness Bt in a vertical conveyance roller pair 1 in which the two conveyance rollers are both movable rollers. FIG. 23 is an explanatory diagram showing the necessary roller diameter φ according to the paper bundle thickness Bt in a discharge roller pair 38 in which one of the two rollers is a movable roller and the other is a fixed roller.

In the pair of conveying rollers, an imaginary line connecting the center axis of the roller and the roller surface with which the leading edge of the sheet bundle Pb that is being conveyed first comes into contact with the conveying direction of the sheet bundle Pb (direction of the arrow "β" in FIG. 22, The larger the angle (hereinafter referred to as the "contact position angle") with the virtual line parallel to the arrow "γ" direction in FIG. 23, the more stable the conveyance. This is thought to be because the larger the contact position angle is, the more likely the force to spread the roller pair acts.

FIG. 22(a) is an explanatory diagram when the thickness of the paper bundle Pb about to pass through the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 is Bt1 (Bt1=12 [mm]), and FIG. It is an explanatory view when the thickness of bundle Pb is Bt2 (Bt2=30 [mm]).
The diameter of the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 shown in FIG. 22(a) is "φ1 = 50.3 [mm]", and the contact position angle is "θ1 = 49.6 [°]". As shown in FIG. 22(b), when the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is set to "Bt2" which is thicker than "Bt1", the contact position angle "θ1" should be made to match in order to obtain the same conveyance stability. Then, the diameter of the vertical conveyance roller 11 is "φ2=125.8 [mm]". This increases the diameters of the two conveyance rollers, leading to an increase in the size of the entire device.

FIG. 23(a) is an explanatory diagram when the thickness of the paper bundle Pb about to pass through the ejection roller pair 38 is Bt1 (Bt1=12 [mm]), and FIG. FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram when the thickness of Pb is Bt2 (Bt2=30 [mm]).
Of the two discharge rollers forming the discharge roller pair 38 shown in FIG. 23(a), the upper discharge roller 38a is a movable roller whose rotation center can move in the vertical direction, and the lower discharge roller 38b is a movable roller whose rotation center is the main body of the apparatus. This is a fixed roller whose position relative to the roller is fixed.

The diameter of the upper discharge roller 38a shown in FIG. 23(a) is "φ3 = 50.3 [mm]", and the contact position angle is "θ2 = 34.9 [°]". When the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is set to "Bt2" which is thicker than "Bt1", if an attempt is made to match the contact position angle "θ2" in order to obtain the same conveyance stability, as shown in FIG. 23(b). As such, the diameter of the vertical conveyance roller 11 becomes φ2=134.5 [mm], and the diameter of the upper discharge roller 38a increases, leading to an increase in the size of the entire apparatus.

In order to deal with such problems, the collation and conveyance mechanism 24 of the collation device 10 of the first embodiment has the following configuration. That is, depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb, which is a conveyed object, at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1, which are a pair of conveyance path members, the vertical conveyance rollers 11, which are conveyance path members, An inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance is provided.

FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram of a part of the collation conveyance mechanism 24, in which a stack of sheets Pb having a large thickness is conveyed to a pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 that change the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 by an inter-member distance changing means. FIG. In the collation conveyance mechanism 24 shown in FIG. 5, the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 is increased depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb at a predetermined position "PL" upstream of the nip portion of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1. As a result, a gap is formed between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 before the leading end of the paper bundle Pb reaches the contact position with the vertical conveyance roller pair 1.
In this state, when a thick stack of sheets Pb is conveyed toward the space between the vertical conveyance rollers 11, as shown in FIG. The leading edge of the paper bundle Pb contacts not the surface of the vertical conveyance roller 11 but the surface of the vertical conveyance roller 11 at a position closest to the two vertical conveyance rollers 11, as in FIG. 21(a). As a result, as in FIG. 21(a), the component force "F1" in the direction perpendicular to the conveyance increases, resisting the biasing force "Fs" and easily pushing out the distance between the two vertical conveyance rollers 11, resulting in a good condition. Transportability can be achieved.

A configuration in which the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 is increased according to the thickness of the paper bundle Pb at the predetermined position "PL" is such that the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 is increased at the same time as the thickness of the paper bundle Pb at the predetermined position "PL" is changed. A configuration may be adopted in which the distance is increased, or a configuration in which a change in the thickness of the paper bundle Pb at a predetermined position "PL" within an arbitrary period is detected and the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 is increased depending on the detection result may be adopted.

The collating conveyance mechanism 24 of the first embodiment includes a pair of clamping members (a pair of vertical conveyance rollers on the upstream side) that clamps the paper bundle Pb at a predetermined position "PL", and when the paper bundle Pb reaches the predetermined position "PL". In this configuration, the force of the movement of the clamping member is transmitted by a mechanical transmission mechanism, and the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 is increased. In this configuration, the force that increases the distance between the vertical transport rollers 11 is transmitted simultaneously with the change in the thickness of the paper bundle Pb at the predetermined position "PL", so that the leading edge of the paper bundle Pb that has reached the predetermined position "PL" is vertically When the rear end of the paper bundle Pb passes through the predetermined position "PL" before reaching the transport roller pair 1, the force that increases the distance between the vertical transport rollers 11 is no longer applied, and the gap between the vertical transport rollers 11 closes. It ends up. Therefore, it is desirable that the distance from the predetermined position "PL" to the pair of vertical transport rollers 1 be shorter than the length in the transport direction of the shortest paper bundle Pb that can be transported.

Further, the conveyance mechanism 21 of a modified example described later has a sensor arranged at a predetermined position "PL", the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is detected by this sensor, and a drive source (such as a solenoid) is activated based on the detection result of the sensor. This configuration is such that at least one of the vertical conveyance rollers 11 of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 is moved to separate the vertical conveyance rollers 11 from each other. In a configuration using a sensor and a drive source, the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 can be increased simultaneously with a change in the thickness of the paper bundle Pb at a predetermined position "PL", or It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which a change in the thickness of the paper bundle Pb at the position "PL" is detected and the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 is increased according to the detection result. In the latter configuration, even if the distance from the predetermined position "PL" to the pair of vertical conveying rollers 1 is longer than the length of the sheet bundle Pb to be conveyed in the conveying direction, the distance between the vertical conveying rollers 11 can be increased in advance. It is possible to realize a configuration in which

In the collating conveyance mechanism 24 in FIG. 5, when a thin paper bundle Pb is conveyed, the distance between the vertical conveyance rollers 11 is narrowed, the vertical conveyance rollers 11 are in contact with each other, and the paper bundle is moved by the vertical conveyance roller pair 1. Pb can be sandwiched.
Therefore, the collating and transporting mechanism 24 shown in FIG. 5 can transport paper bundles Pb of various thicknesses.

Next, a specific configuration of the collation and conveyance mechanism 24 schematically shown in FIG. 5 will be described.
FIG. 6 is a perspective explanatory view of the drive transmission mechanism and the holding mechanism for the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 inside one of the two frames (12A or 12B) of the housing 12. As shown in FIG. 6, the housing 12 includes a frame 121 and a side plate frame 120.

FIG. 7 is an enlarged explanatory diagram of two vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 arranged consecutively in the conveyance direction among the ten vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 included in the collation conveyance mechanism 24 and their holding mechanisms.

In FIG. 7, among the two vertical conveyance roller pairs 1, each member related to the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a located on the downstream side is given an "a" after the numeral. Further, for each member related to the upstream vertical conveying roller pair 1b located on the upstream side among the two vertical conveying roller pairs 1, "b" is added after the number of the reference numeral.
Hereinafter, when describing a configuration that is common between the upstream side and the downstream side, "a" and "b" will be omitted.

In the collation conveyance mechanism 24 shown in FIG. 7, the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is adjusted according to the thickness of the paper bundle Pb at the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b, which is a predetermined position upstream in the conveyance direction with respect to the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a. This configuration changes the distance between the downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a. More specifically, the interval between the downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a before the paper bundle Pb reaches the sheet bundle Pb is increased in accordance with the amount of movement of the upstream vertical conveyance rollers 11b, which increases as the sheet bundle Pb that passes becomes thicker. Equipped with

As shown in FIG. 7, the collation conveyance mechanism 24 includes a vertical conveyance roller holder 5 (5a, 5b). The vertical conveyance roller holder 5 is rotatably supported relative to the main body of the apparatus around a holding member rotation shaft 6 fixed to the side plate frame 120. A moving force output pin 52 (52a, 52b) and a moving force input pin 51 (51a, 51b) are fixed to each vertical conveyance roller holder 5.

The collation and conveyance mechanism 24 includes a roller biasing spring 4 that has one end fixed to the center side of the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 across the holding member rotating shaft 6, and the other end fixed to the spring holding frame 13. The spring holding frame 13 is fixed to the side plate frame 120.
Further, the collation conveyance mechanism 24 includes link members 9 (9a, 9b) that transmit the moving force of the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 on the upstream side to the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 on the downstream side. Each link member 9 has a round hole 92 (92a, 92b) that engages with the moving force output pin 52 of the vertical conveying roller holder 5 on the upstream side, and a moving force input pin 51 (of the vertical conveying roller holder 5 on the downstream side). 51a, 51b) and elongated holes 91 (91a, 91b) that engage with the long holes 91 (91a, 91b).

The roller biasing spring 4 is a tension spring that applies a biasing force to lift the center side of the spring holding frame 13 upward as shown by arrow "Fs" in FIG. This urging force urges the vertical conveyance roller 11 held at the center side of the spring holding frame 13 toward the center, and the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 constituting the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 come into contact with each other and form a nip. form a section.

When the collating device 10 is in operation, the conveyance drive motor outputs rotational drive, and the drive output belt 110 (toothed belt) moves endlessly. The rotational drive input to the drive output belt 110 is inputted to the conveyance roller drive input pulley 17 (toothed pulley) corresponding to each vertical conveyance roller 11 via a toothed pulley or a toothed belt. The rotational drive of the conveyance roller drive input pulley 17 is input to a holding member shaft pulley (toothed pulley) rotatable about the holding member rotation shaft 6 via a conveyance roller drive input belt 19 (toothed belt). Further, the rotational drive of the holding member shaft pulley is input to a conveyance roller drive input gear fixed to the vertical conveyance roller 11 via an endlessly moving toothed belt.
With such a mechanism, all the vertical conveyance rollers 11 are rotationally driven, and each vertical conveyance roller pair 1 constituted by a pair of vertical conveyance rollers 11 handles the paper P or paper bundle Pb that has reached the nip portion. Conveying force can be applied.

In the collating device 10 of this embodiment, a diameter of 50 [mm] is used as the vertical conveyance roller 11, and the specifications are such that it is possible to convey a sheet bundle Pb up to a thickness of 30 [mm]. The specifications of the combining device 10 are not limited to these.

Next, the behavior of the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a when the sheet bundle Pb reaches the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b shown in FIG. 7 will be described. 8 to 14 used in the following description, illustrations of the spring holding frame 13, roller biasing spring 4, and round hole 92 shown in FIG. 7 are omitted.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of the pair of two vertical conveyance rollers 1 before paper passes. In the state shown in FIG. 8, all roller pairs are in a closed state. The upstream elongated hole 91b of the upstream link member 9b engages with the downstream movement input pin 51a of the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a. In the state shown in FIG. 8, the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a with respect to the upstream elongated hole 91b is approximately at the center in the longitudinal direction of the upstream elongated hole 91b.

Therefore, when the upstream link member 9b starts to move from the state shown in FIG. 8, the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a in the longitudinal direction of the upstream elongated hole 91b is displaced. While the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a relative to the upstream elongated hole 91b is displaced, the force for moving the upstream link member 9b is not transmitted to the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a.
Then, the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a in the upstream elongated hole 91b reaches the end in the longitudinal direction, and the upstream link member 9b continues to move, so that the force of the movement of the upstream link member 9b is transmitted to the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a.

FIG. 9 shows a state in which the leading edge of a relatively thin paper bundle Pb (paper bundle thickness Bt=10 [mm] in this example, hereinafter referred to as "thin paper bundle Pb1") has reached the nip portion of the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a. show.
When the thin paper bundle Pb1 is conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 8 and reaches the nip portion between the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b, the thin paper bundle Pb1 spreads the two upstream vertical conveyance rollers 11b and passes through the nip portion. As a result, the upstream vertical conveying roller holder 5b moves in the direction in which the upstream vertical conveying roller 11b moves downward (see FIG. 9) in the direction of arrow “A”. This rotation causes the upstream moving force output pin 52b fixed to the upstream vertical conveying roller holder 5b on the opposite side of the upstream vertical conveying roller 11b with the upstream holding member rotating shaft 6b in between to move upward. Then, the upstream link member 9b that engages with the upstream moving force output pin 52b through the upstream round hole 92b moves upward as shown by arrow "B" in FIG.

In the state shown in FIG. 9, the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a in the upstream elongated hole 91b changes due to the movement of the upstream link member 9b, but it has not reached the longitudinal end of the upstream elongated hole 91b. do not have. Therefore, the downstream movement input pin 51a and the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a to which it is fixed do not move, and the two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a of the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a remain in contact with each other. Then, when the thin paper bundle Pb1 is further conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 9, the thin paper bundle Pb1 pushes the two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a apart and passes through the nip portion.

FIG. 10 shows a state in which the leading edge of a relatively thick paper bundle Pb (paper bundle thickness Bt=30 [mm] in this example, hereinafter referred to as "thick paper bundle Pb2") has reached the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b. It is an explanatory diagram. In FIG. 10, the cardboard bundle Pb2 is in the middle of pushing the two upstream vertical conveyance rollers 11b apart, and the gap between them is 15 [mm].
In the state shown in FIG. 10, the upstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5b rotates further in the direction of arrow "A" in FIG. 10 than in the state shown in FIG. 9, and the upstream link member 9b moves upward as shown by arrow "B". It will move further.

At this time, the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a in the upstream elongated hole 91b reaches the lower end in the longitudinal direction. When the upstream link member 9b further moves upward from this state, it pulls up the downstream movement input pin 51a that has reached the lower end of the upstream elongated hole 91b.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the leading end of the cardboard bundle Pb2 passes through the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b, and the cardboard bundle Pb2 is sandwiched between the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b. In the state shown in FIG. 11, the rollers of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b are separated by 30 [mm].

From the state shown in FIG. 10, the cardboard bundle Pb2 pushes the two upstream vertical conveyance rollers 11b apart, causing the upstream link member 9b to move upward (arrow "B" in FIG. 11), thereby inputting a downstream movement input. Pull up the pin 51a (arrow "C" in FIG. 11). As a result, the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a having the downstream movement input pin 51a moves around the downstream holding member rotating shaft 6a as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 11 against the biasing force of the downstream roller biasing spring 4a. Rotate in the “D” direction. Due to this rotation, the two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a held by the two downstream vertical conveyance roller holders 5a are separated. As shown in FIG. 11, when the rollers of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b are opened by 30 [mm], the rollers of the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a are opened by 15 [mm].

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the leading end of the cardboard bundle Pb2 has reached the nip portion of the pair of downstream vertical conveyance rollers 1a. In the state shown in FIG. 12, the gap between the rollers of the pair of downstream vertical conveyance rollers 1a is 15 [mm], so when the cardboard bundle Pb2 with a thickness of 30 [mm] is further conveyed, the two downstream The vertical conveyance rollers 11a are pushed apart. As a result, the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow "E" in FIG. 12, and the downstream movement input pin 51a of the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a rotates in the direction indicated by the arrow "G" in FIG. Move upward as shown.

FIG. 13 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the leading end of the cardboard bundle Pb2 has passed through the nip portion of the pair of downstream vertical conveyance rollers 1a. The gap between the rollers of the pair of downstream vertical conveyance rollers 1a, which are spread out by the cardboard bundle Pb2, is 30 [mm], which is the thickness of the cardboard bundle Pb2. Further, the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a in the upstream elongated hole 91b is slightly closer to the center than the lower end.

FIG. 14 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which the rear end of the cardboard bundle Pb2 has passed through the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b. When the rear end of the cardboard bundle Pb2 passes, the upstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5b rotates in the direction of arrow "H" in FIG. 14 due to the biasing force of the upstream roller biasing spring 4b, and the two upstream vertical conveyance rollers 11b touch each other.
Due to this rotation of the upstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5b, the upstream moving force output pin 52b and the upstream link member 9b move downward as shown by arrow "I" in FIG. At this time, the position of the downstream movement input pin 51a in the upstream elongated hole 91b moves from the lower end side to the upper end side, and the force of movement of the upstream link member 9b does not act on the downstream movement input pin 51a.

In this way, with the configuration of engagement using the elongated holes, the gap between the rollers of the upstream vertical conveying roller pair 1b can be closed even when the sheet bundle Pb is sandwiched between the downstream vertical conveying roller pair 1a. I can do it. As a result, the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b can receive the next sheet bundle Pb, and the interval between the continuously conveyed sheet bundles Pb can be narrowed, thereby improving productivity.

In the explanation using FIGS. 9 to 14, for convenience, the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb passing through the nip portion is the same between the upstream vertical conveying roller pair 1b and the downstream vertical conveying roller pair 1a. In the collating device 10, the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb passing through the nip portion increases as the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 is located on the downstream side.

As an example, a case will be described in which, if the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is 20 [mm] or less, the paper bundle Pb can be spread out and passed through the two vertical conveyance rollers 11 that are in contact with each other. A stack of sheets Pb of 20 [mm] passes through the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b, and the plurality of sheets P supplied from the paper feed section 14 join together before reaching the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a. Assume that the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is 24 [mm]. At this time, if the two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a of the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a remain in contact with each other, the paper bundle Pb cannot spread the two rollers apart, resulting in a jam. On the other hand, in the configuration described using FIGS. 9 to 14, when the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b holds a 20 [mm] sheet bundle Pb and the rollers are separated by 20 [mm], , the distance between the rollers of the pair of downstream vertical conveyance rollers 1a is 5 mm. As a result, the downstream vertical transport roller pair 1a can transport up to 25 [mm], and when the sheets P merge, it becomes possible to transport the paper bundle Pb, which has a length of 24 [mm].

In the configuration described using FIGS. 9 to 14, when the distance between the rollers of the upstream vertical conveying roller pair 1b (hereinafter also referred to as "opening amount") is 15 [mm] or less, the downstream vertical conveying roller There is no gap between the rollers of pair 1a (the amount of gap is "0"). Then, when the opening amount of the upstream vertical conveying roller pair 1b exceeds 15 [mm], the downstream vertical conveying roller pair 1a starts to open. Further, the opening amount of the upstream vertical conveying roller pair 1b is 30 [mm], and the opening amount of the downstream vertical conveying roller pair 1a is 15 [mm].
The amount of opening on the upstream side at which the downstream side starts to open, and the relationship between the amount of opening on the downstream side and the amount of opening on the upstream side are not limited to the above-mentioned relationships.
These relationships can be achieved by appropriately selecting the distances from the holding member rotation axis 6 to the vertical conveyance rotation axis 111, the moving force input pin 51, and the moving force output pin 52, and the length of the elongated hole 91. Can be set to .

As shown in FIGS. 7 and 8, when the rollers of the downstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1a are in contact with each other, the virtual line segment connecting the rotation axes of the two holding members (the two downstream holding members In this configuration, the nip portion of the pair of downstream vertical conveyance rollers 1a is located downstream in the conveyance direction from the intersection of the virtual line segment connecting the rotation shaft 6a and the collation conveyance path 25. In such a configuration, when the downstream vertical conveyance roller 11a moves downstream in the conveyance direction of the sheet bundle Pb, the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a rotates so that the two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a are separated.
This makes it possible to rotate the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a in a direction that separates the two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a by the force of the conveyed paper bundle Pb hitting the downstream vertical conveyance roller 11a. . Therefore, the force of the sheet bundle Pb hitting the downstream vertical conveyance roller 11a at the nip portion tends to act to separate the two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a.

In FIGS. 7 to 14, two sets of a holding mechanism including a vertical conveyance roller holder 5 having a similar shape and a pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 held by the vertical conveyance roller pair 1, which are arranged consecutively in the conveyance direction, will be explained. did. As shown in FIG. 6, the collating device 10 of the first embodiment includes four combinations of holding mechanisms each having a vertical conveyance roller holder 5 having a similar shape and a pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 held by the holding mechanism.

When three or more holding mechanisms including vertical conveyance roller holders 5 of similar shape are provided in the conveyance direction, the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 on the most upstream side in the conveyance direction among the three is a vertical conveyance roller member that is a movable member. It has at least the function of a moving roller holding rotation member that holds the conveyance roller 11. Further, the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 located in the middle in the conveyance direction has the functions of a moving roller holding rotation member and a roller holding rotation member. This is because the vertical conveyance roller 11 held by the middle vertical conveyance roller holder 5 is a moving roller member as a moving member and also a roller member as a conveyance path member. Further, the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction has at least the function of a roller holding rotation member that holds the vertical conveyance roller 11 which is a roller member serving as a conveyance path member. As a result, a common member (vertical conveyance roller holder 5) can be used as a member having the function of a moving roller holding rotation member, a member having a function of a roller holding rotation member, and a member having both functions. I can do it. Therefore, with the configuration in which the roller members of the plurality of vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 are spaced apart from each other in advance, parts of the holding mechanism that holds the respective roller members can be made common.

In the collation conveyance mechanism 24, the sheet bundle Pb becomes thicker on the downstream side in the conveyance direction of the collation conveyance path 25, so that the problem that the sheet bundle Pb gets jammed in the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 is more likely to occur as the downstream side in the conveyance direction.
Embodiment 1 has a configuration in which the four vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 on the downstream side among the ten vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 are held by the vertical conveyance roller holder 5, which is a common member explained using FIGS. 7 to 14. It is. With this configuration, the three vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 on the downstream side of the four can be spaced apart from each other in advance according to the amount of separation between the rollers of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 on the upstream side. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the stack of sheets Pb, which becomes thicker toward the downstream side, from getting jammed in the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 on the downstream side.
In the first embodiment, a part of the downstream side of the plurality of vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 is held by the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 described using FIGS. 7 to 14, but all of the vertical conveyance roller pairs 1 may be held by a vertical conveyance roller holder 5.

Next, a configuration in which the upper discharge roller 38a is separated from the lower discharge roller 38b in advance in the discharge roller pair 38 of the discharge conveyance mechanism 31 will be described.
FIG. 15 is an enlarged perspective view of the discharge conveyance mechanism 31. In FIG. 15, for convenience, a broken line indicates a portion that is hidden by either the discharge transport front frame 39a or the discharge upper roller movement front link 54a, which will be described in detail later.
The sheet bundle Pb that has passed through the pair of folding rollers 34 (see FIG. 2) is guided diagonally downward by the post-folding guide plate 35, reaches the upper surface of the discharge conveyance belt 36, and is conveyed by the endless movement of the discharge conveyance belt 36. . Thereafter, it is held between a pair of discharge rollers 38 and discharged from the apparatus. The discharge conveyance mechanism 31 forms a discharge conveyance path 33 by a discharge conveyance belt 36, a cardboard bundle detection roller 55, a pair of discharge rollers 38, and the like.

The discharge conveyance mechanism 31 is a part of the casing of the apparatus main body, and includes a pair of discharge conveyance frame 39 (discharge conveyance front frame 39a, discharge conveyance back frame 39b) that holds both ends of each member in the width direction. . It also includes a post-folding guide plate 35, a discharge conveyance belt 36, and a pair of discharge rollers 38, and includes a belt drive roller 361 and a belt driven roller 362 that stretch the discharge conveyance belt 36, which is a flat belt. The belt drive roller 361 and the belt driven roller 362 are rotatably supported by the discharge conveyance section frame 39 by a belt drive shaft 361a and a belt driven shaft 362a, respectively.

A thick paper bundle detection roller 55 is provided above the discharge conveyance belt 36 and moves upward when a paper bundle Pb having a thickness equal to or greater than a predetermined thickness is conveyed to the discharge conveyance path 33. The cardboard bundle detection roller 55 is rotatably held by a detection roller holding lever 53 (detection roller front holding lever 53a, detection roller back holding lever 53b) that holds a detection roller shaft 55a. The detection roller holding lever 53 is rotatably supported by the discharge conveyance unit frame 39 around a detection roller movement shaft 71 (detection roller front movement axis 71a, detection roller back movement axis 71b). The detection roller holding lever 53 includes an engagement shaft 72 (front engagement shaft 72a, rear engagement shaft 72b) on the opposite side of the detection roller shaft 55a (upstream side in the conveyance direction) with the detection roller moving shaft 71 in between. The engagement shaft 72 rotatably engages the detection roller holding lever 53 and the upper discharge roller moving link 54 (upper discharge roller moving front link 54a, upper discharge roller moving back link 54b).

The upper discharge roller moving link 54 is rotatably supported by the discharge transport unit frame 39 about a link rotation shaft 56 . The link rotation shaft 56 is provided on a frame protrusion 58 that protrudes outward in the width direction from the discharge conveyance section frame 39. As a result, a gap corresponding to the protrusion height of the frame protrusion 58 can be secured between the ejection transport section frame 39 and the ejection upper roller moving link 54 in the width direction, and the detection roller holding lever 53 can be rotated in this gap. It is arranged as possible.

The upper discharge roller moving link 54 includes an upper discharge roller push-up pin 59 on the opposite side of the engagement shaft 72 (downstream side in the conveyance direction) with the link rotation shaft 56 in between.
Above the upper discharge roller push-up pin 59, an upper discharge roller 38a is rotatably held around an upper discharge roller rotation shaft 381a, and rotated with respect to the discharge transport unit frame 39 around an upper discharge roller movement shaft 66a. A discharge upper roller holder 70 is provided. In the upper discharge roller holder 70, one end of the upper discharge roller biasing spring 64 is fixed to the side of the upper discharge roller rotation shaft 381a (downstream side in the conveyance direction) with the upper discharge roller moving shaft 66a in between. The other end of the upper discharge roller biasing spring 64 is fixed to the discharge transport section frame 39. As a result, the upper discharge roller rotation shaft 381a side of the upper discharge roller holder 70 is biased downward across the upper discharge roller moving shaft 66a by the biasing force of the upper discharge roller biasing spring 64, and the upper discharge roller 38a is pushed downward. It comes into contact with the roller 38b to form a discharge nip.

In the discharge conveyance mechanism 31 shown in FIG. 15, when a paper bundle Pb having a thickness exceeding a predetermined thickness passes through a position where the discharge conveyance belt 36 and a cardboard bundle detection roller 55 face each other, the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 moves upward. However, the upper discharge roller 38a is also configured to move upward.

FIG. 16 is a side view of the discharge conveyance mechanism 31 in a state in which a bundle of sheets Pb having a thickness equal to or less than a predetermined thickness (1.5 [mm]) is conveyed. The distance between the upper surface of the discharge conveyance belt 36 and the lower end of the surface of the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 is set to a predetermined thickness. Therefore, when the paper bundle Pb has a predetermined thickness or less, the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 does not move, and the upper discharge roller 38a remains in contact with the lower discharge roller 38b. Then, when the paper bundle Pb is conveyed from the state shown in FIG. The upper roller 38a is pushed up to pass through the discharge nip.

FIG. 17 is a side view of the discharge conveyance mechanism 31 in a state where a bundle of sheets Pb having a thickness exceeding a predetermined thickness (1.5 [mm]) has been conveyed. FIG. 18 is a side view of the ejection transport mechanism 31 in a state where the paper bundle Pb is transported from the state shown in FIG.

When a paper bundle Pb exceeding a predetermined thickness is conveyed by the discharge conveyance belt 36, the paper bundle Pb widens the gap between the discharge conveyance belt 36 and the cardboard bundle detection roller 55. move upwards. As a result, the detection roller holding lever 53 that holds the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 rotates in the direction of arrow "J" in FIG. The joint shaft 72 moves downward.

When the engagement shaft 72 moves downward, the upper ejection roller moving link 54 that engages with the detection roller holding lever 53 via the engagement shaft 72 moves in the direction of arrow “K” in FIG. 17 about the link rotation shaft 56. Rotate to . This rotation causes the upper discharge roller push-up pin 59 fixed to the upper discharge roller moving link 54 to move upward.

When the upper discharge roller push-up pin 59 moves upward, it hits the lower part of the upper discharge roller holder 70 and pushes it up, and the upper discharge roller holder 70 rotates in the direction of arrow "L" in FIG. 17 about the upper discharge roller movement shaft 66a. do. As a result of this rotation, the upper discharge roller 38a held by the upper discharge roller holder 70 moves upward against the biasing force of the upper discharge roller biasing spring 64, and as shown in FIG. A gap is formed between the roller 38b and the roller 38b. The gap at this time is set to be narrower than the gap between the discharge conveyance belt 36 and the cardboard bundle detection roller 55, which has been expanded by the paper bundle Pb.

When the paper bundle Pb is further conveyed from the state shown in FIG. 17, the leading end of the paper bundle Pb reaches the ejection roller pair 38, and as shown in FIG. 18, the paper bundle Pb further pushes up the upper ejection roller 38a and is ejected. Passes through the nip. At this time, the upper discharge roller holder 70 rotates in the direction of arrow "L" in FIG. 18 about the upper discharge roller movement shaft 66a, and is separated from the upper discharge roller push-up pin 59.

When the paper bundle Pb is further conveyed from the state shown in FIG. The upper discharge roller moving link 54 rotates to the position shown in FIG. At this time, since the paper bundle Pb is passing through the discharge nip portion, the discharge upper roller holder 70 remains in the position shown in FIG. 18. Thereafter, when the rear end of the sheet bundle Pb passes through the discharge nip, the upper discharge roller holder 70 is rotated by the biasing force of the upper discharge roller biasing spring 64, resulting in the state shown in FIG. 16.

The drive to the discharge conveyance belt 36 is transmitted as follows. The rotational drive from the drive source is transmitted to the first drive input gear 41, and the belt drive gear fixed to the belt drive roller 361 is transmitted via the second drive input gear 43 and the discharge conveyance drive input belt 45 (toothed belt). 47, and the belt drive roller 361 is rotationally driven. As a result, the discharge conveyance belt 36 stretched between the belt drive roller 361 and the belt driven roller 362 is driven to endlessly move by frictional drive transmission between the belt drive roller 361 and the belt drive roller 362 .

The cardboard bundle detection roller 55 is rotationally driven and applies a conveying force to the paper bundle Pb in the direction of moving downstream in the conveying direction. The rotational drive of the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 is transmitted as follows. When the belt drive gear 47 is rotationally driven, the detection roller is stretched by the belt drive gear 47, the detection roller drive transmission gear 49 which is rotatable around the detection roller movement shaft 71, and the tension pulley 74 (toothed pulley). The roller drive transmission belt 48 (toothed belt) moves endlessly. This endless movement causes the detection roller drive transmission gear 49 to rotate, and the detection roller drive input gear 551 whose gear teeth mesh with the detection roller drive transmission gear 49 to rotate. Since the detection roller drive input gear 551 has the detection roller shaft 55a as a rotating shaft and is fixed to the cardboard bundle detection roller 55, the detection roller drive input gear 551 rotationally drives the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 to rotate. is input.

A rotational drive is transmitted to the discharge roller pair 38 from a discharge drive source via a discharge drive input shaft 60. When the discharge drive input shaft 60 is rotationally driven, the discharge drive input gear 61 rotates, and the lower discharge roller drive gear 63, which stretches the discharge drive input belt 62 (toothed belt) between it and the discharge drive input gear 61, rotates. drive The lower discharge roller drive gear 63 has the lower discharge roller rotation shaft 381b as a rotating shaft and is fixed to the lower discharge roller 38b, so when the lower discharge roller drive gear 63 is rotationally driven, the lower discharge roller 38b rotates. Drive is input.

When the lower discharge roller drive gear 63 is rotationally driven, the upper discharge roller drive transmission gear 66 that stretches the upper discharge roller drive input belt 65 (toothed belt) between the lower discharge roller drive gear 63 and the lower discharge roller drive gear 63 becomes the upper discharge roller movement shaft. It is driven to rotate around 66a. Then, the upper discharge roller drive gear 67 whose teeth mesh with the upper discharge roller drive transmission gear 66 is driven to rotate. The upper discharge roller drive gear 67 has the upper discharge roller rotation shaft 381a as a rotating shaft and is fixed to the upper discharge roller 38a, so when the upper discharge roller drive gear 67 is rotationally driven, the upper discharge roller 38a rotates. Drive is input.

<Modified example>
In the collating device 10 of the first embodiment described above, the movement of the moving members on the upstream side of the transport roller pair (upstream vertical transport roller 11b, cardboard bundle detection roller 55) is transmitted by a mechanical transmission mechanism, and the movement of the transport roller pair is transmitted by a mechanical transmission mechanism. This is a configuration in which the pairs are separated. Specifically, in the collation conveyance mechanism 24, a link mechanism composed of an upstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5b, an upstream link member 9b, a downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a, etc. functions as an inter-member distance changing means. have Further, in the discharge conveyance mechanism 31, a link mechanism including the detection roller holding lever 53, the upper discharge roller moving link 54, the upper discharge roller holder 70, etc. has a function as an inter-member distance changing means.
The configuration for separating the pair of conveyance rollers in advance is not limited to this. Hereinafter, as a modified example, a configuration will be described in which the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is detected by a sensor and the pair of transport rollers are separated based on the detection result.

FIG. 19 is a schematic explanatory diagram of a modified example of the transport mechanism 21. This configuration has sensors (81, 101) and solenoids (82, 102) added to the conveyance mechanism 21 of the collating device of the first embodiment shown in FIG. Since the components other than the added members are the same as those of the transport mechanism 21 shown in FIG. 4, the common reference numerals are omitted from illustration for convenience.

The conveyance mechanism 21 of the modified example shown in FIG. 19 includes a roller movement amount sensor 101 that detects the movement amount of the rollers constituting the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 with another vertical conveyance roller pair 1 arranged on the downstream side. Further, a roller moving solenoid 102 is provided for moving the rollers constituting the vertical conveying roller pair 1 on which another vertical conveying roller pair 1 is arranged on the upstream side.
Based on the detection result of the roller movement amount sensor 101, the control unit 50 (see FIG. 2) controls the roller movement solenoid 102 of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 located downstream of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 whose movement amount has been detected. Control the drive.
Thereby, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the distance between the rollers of the pair of vertical conveying rollers 1 on the downstream side is changed depending on the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb at the nip portion of the pair of vertical conveying rollers 1 on the upstream side.

As in the modified example, the roller movement solenoid 102 is controlled according to the detection result of the roller movement amount sensor 101. In this configuration, by changing the driving conditions of the roller movement solenoid 102 by the control unit 50, the amount of opening of the nip portion of the pair of vertical conveying rollers 1 on the downstream side relative to the opening amount of the nip portion of the pair of vertical conveying rollers 1 on the upstream side. can be easily changed. For this reason, the amount of opening of the pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 on the downstream side relative to the thickness of the paper bundle Pb is set according to conditions such as the use environment of the collating device 10 such as temperature and humidity, and the paper quality of the paper forming the paper bundle Pb. It becomes possible to do so.

Further, the device for changing the distance between members according to the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb at the nip portion of the upstream vertical conveying roller pair 1 is not limited to the roller pair such as the vertical conveying roller pair 1. For example, in conveyance path forming members that form a conveyance path, such as the pair of vertical conveyance guides 2, the distance between members facing each other across the collation conveyance path 25 may be changed.
The conveyance mechanism 21 of the modified example includes a guide movement solenoid 82 that moves a guide plate forming a pair of vertical conveyance guides 2 on which a pair of vertical conveyance rollers 1 are arranged on the upstream side.

The control unit 50 of the modified example also drives the guide movement solenoid 82 of the vertical conveyance guide pair 2 located downstream of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 whose displacement is detected, based on the detection result of the roller movement amount sensor 101. Control. Specifically, when the paper bundle Pb passing through the upstream vertical transport roller pair 1 is thin, the interval between the guide plates in the vertical transport guide pair 2 is narrowed, and when the paper bundle Pb is thick, the interval between the guide plates is widened. control to do so. This prevents the surface of the paper bundle Pb from separating from the surface of the guide plate for paper bundles Pb of various thicknesses, allows the paper bundle Pb to follow the guide plate, and improves conveyance stability. can be achieved.

Further, as shown in FIG. 19, the conveyance mechanism 21 of the modified example has a sheet thickness detection function that detects the thickness of the sheet P to be fed by detecting the amount of movement of the upper roller of the pair of horizontal conveyance rollers 8. A sensor 81 is provided.
In the modified conveyance mechanism 21, the thickness of each paper P detected by the paper thickness detection sensor 81 of all the horizontal conveyance roller pairs 8 located upstream of each vertical conveyance roller pair 1 is summed. The value can be calculated. Then, the control unit 50 may control the drive of the roller movement solenoid 102 so as to adjust the distance between the rollers of the vertical conveyance roller pair 1 based on the calculated total value.

In this modification, the sensor that detects the thickness of the sheet bundle Pb, which is the conveyed object, detects the thickness based on the amount of movement of the rollers that sandwich the sheet bundle Pb. The detection means for detecting the thickness is not limited to this. It may be a contact type sensor using a contact other than a roller, or a non- contact type sensor using a laser or ultrasonic wave.

<Embodiment 2>
Hereinafter, as a second embodiment (hereinafter referred to as "Embodiment 2"), an embodiment of a medium processing apparatus equipped with the configuration of the transport device according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 20 is a schematic diagram of the media processing device 300 according to the second embodiment. The media processing device 300 takes the topmost sheet of the bundle of plate media S placed on the supply tray 301 into the device using the pickup roller 302 . The plate-shaped medium S taken into the apparatus reaches the medium processing section 306 via the first pair of conveyance rollers 303, the second pair of conveyance rollers 304, and the third pair of conveyance rollers 305. The plate-shaped medium S that has been subjected to a predetermined process in the medium processing section 306 is discharged from the apparatus by a pair of medium discharge rollers 307 and is stacked on a discharge tray 308 .
The predetermined processing executed by the medium processing unit 306 includes, but is not limited to, printing processing, coating processing, binding processing, cutting processing, and the like.

The three transport roller pairs (303 to 305) include an upper roller and a lower roller. Each of the upper rollers is movable in the vertical direction, and is biased downwardly by biasing means so as to come into contact with the lower roller.

As shown in FIG. 20, among the three conveyance roller pairs (303 to 305), the upper roller of the first conveyance roller pair 303 located on the most upstream side has a larger diameter than the other rollers. ing. By using rollers with a large diameter as the rollers that form the roller pair, it is possible to clamp and convey objects with a certain thickness without forming a gap in advance, and it is possible to limit the range of thickness that can be conveyed while forming a nip. Can be set widely.

The second conveying roller pair 304 is configured such that the upper roller moves in accordance with the amount of movement of the upper roller of the first conveying roller pair 303 on the upstream side, and the rollers are separated from each other. Further, the third transport roller pair 305 is configured such that the upper roller moves in accordance with the amount of movement of the upper roller of the second transport roller pair 304 on the upstream side, and the rollers are separated from each other.
As the configuration for separating the rollers of the roller pair, either the configuration using the mechanical transmission mechanism described above in Embodiment 1 or the configuration using the detection means and drive mechanism described above in the modified example can be used. I can do it.
By separating the downstream roller pair in advance according to the amount of separation between the rollers of the upstream roller pair, thick plate-shaped media can be processed without increasing the roller diameter of the downstream roller pair. It becomes possible to transport S.

The pair of transport path members whose distance is changed in accordance with the separation amount of the upstream roller pair is not limited to the pair of transport rollers.
For example, when the medium processing unit 306 performs a transfer printing process, the distance between opposing members that form the transfer unit (such as a transfer belt and a transfer opposing roller) may be changed. Not limited to this, if it is desirable to change the distance between the pair of transport path members depending on the thickness of the plate-like medium S, a configuration in which the distance is changed depending on the amount of separation between the upstream roller pair can be applied.

The plate-shaped conveyed object according to the present invention is a sheet bundle Pb in the first embodiment, and a plate-shaped medium S in the second embodiment. Plate-shaped objects to be transported include paper, coated paper, OHP sheets, label paper, films, fabrics, resin sheets, metal sheets, electronic circuit board materials with metal foil or plating, special films, and plastics. It includes films, prepregs, sheets for electronic circuit boards, etc., and may be in the form of a bundle of multiple sheets or a single sheet.

What has been described above is just an example, and each of the following aspects has its own unique effects.

[Aspect 1]
Two conveyance path members (two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a, discharge upper In a conveyance device such as the collation conveyance mechanism 24 or the discharge conveyance mechanism 31, which includes a pair of conveyance path members such as a pair of downstream vertical conveyance rollers 1a and a pair of discharge rollers 38, which have rollers 38a and lower discharge rollers 38b, the conveyance path members Depending on the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair (the nip part of the upstream vertical conveyance roller pair 1b, the opposing part between the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 and the discharge conveyance belt, etc.), The present invention is characterized by being equipped with a means for changing the distance between members such as a link mechanism (a link mechanism having 5b, 9b, and 5a or a link mechanism having 53, 54, and 70) that changes the distance between road members. .
According to this conveyance device, it is possible to change the distance between the two conveyance path members before the conveyed object reaches the pair of conveyance path members, depending on the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position. . As a result, when the transported object is thick, it is possible to widen the distance between the two transport path members before the thick transported object reaches the transport path member pair, and the transported object becomes clogged in the transport path member pair. It is possible to suppress deterioration in conveyance properties such as occurrence of.

The predetermined position is not limited to the inside of the conveyance path of the conveyance device, but may be inside the accommodating part of the conveyed object outside the conveyance path like the supply tray 301 of the second embodiment.
The two conveyance path members are not limited to roller members. For example, it may be a combination of guide members, a roller member and a guide member, a combination of at least one belt member, or a combination of transfer nip forming members in a printing device.
The configuration for changing the distance between the conveyance path members may be a configuration in which one of the two conveyance path members is moved, or a configuration in which both conveyance path members are moved.

[Aspect 2]
In the conveyance device according to aspect 1, the pair of conveyance path members includes two downstream vertical conveyance rollers 11a that sandwich the conveyed object and move on the surface, and surface-moving bodies such as an upper discharge roller 38a and a lower discharge roller 38b. A pair of surface moving bodies such as a pair of side vertical conveyance rollers 1a and a pair of discharge rollers 38 are provided, and a downstream roller biasing spring 4a and an upper discharge roller biasing spring bias one of the two surface movable bodies toward the other. 64 or the like is provided.
In a device in which a nip is formed by a surface moving body urged by a biasing means , the conveyed object that has been conveyed to the nip comes into contact with the surface of the surface moving body on the upstream side with respect to the nip, and By being conveyed, the nip portion is expanded by the conveyed object. Therefore, objects up to a certain thickness can be held and transported between the two surface moving bodies. However, if the thickness of the transported object exceeds a certain level, it will come into contact with the surface of the surface moving object, making it difficult for the transported object to exert force to spread the nip area, resulting in the transported object becoming jammed or being transported. may be delayed.
In contrast, in the conveyance device according to aspect 2, when conveying an object having a thickness exceeding a certain level, the distance between the two surface moving bodies is increased before the object reaches the nip portion. becomes possible. Thereby, it is possible to suppress deterioration in conveyance performance such as clogging of the conveyed object at the nip portion between the two surface moving bodies.

[Aspect 3]
In the conveyance device according to aspect 2, the surface moving body is a roller member such as the downstream vertical conveyance roller 11a or the upper discharge roller 38a that rotates around a rotation axis such as the vertical conveyance rotation shaft 111 or the upper discharge roller rotation shaft 381a. The inter-member distance changing means rotatably holds the roller member and is rotatable about a rotation axis such as the downstream holding member rotation axis 6a or the discharge upper roller movement axis 66a with respect to the apparatus main body. The roller retaining rotary member such as the supported downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a and the discharge upper roller holder 70 engages with and moves to rotate the roller retaining rotary member. It is characterized by having moving force transmitting members such as the upstream link member 9b and the discharge upper roller moving link 54 whose movement amount varies depending on the thickness of the transported object at a predetermined position. .
According to this, since the moving force is transmitted to the roller holding rotation member by the moving force transmitting member, the distance between the roller members, which are conveyance path members, can be changed without providing a drive source such as a motor or a solenoid. can be realized.

[Aspect 4]
In the conveying device according to aspect 3, the engagement portion between the moving force transmitting member such as the upstream link member 9b and the roller holding rotating member such as the downstream vertical conveying roller holder 5a is connected to one member (the upstream link member 9b). etc.) has a long hole such as the upstream long hole 91b, and the other member (downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a, etc.) has an engagement pin such as the downstream movement input pin 51a that engages with the long hole. It is characterized by:
According to this, the moving force is not transmitted from the moving force transmitting member to the roller holding rotating member until the engaging pin is located at the end of the elongated hole, and when the engaging pin is located at the end of the elongated hole. A configuration that transmits moving force can be realized.
Specifically, when the moving force transmitting member begins to move, the engagement pin is only displaced within the elongated hole, and the roller holding rotating member does not rotate. Then, when the moving force transmitting member moves to the extent that the engagement pin reaches the end of the elongated hole and moves further, the moving force of the moving force transmitting member is transmitted to the roller holding rotation member, and the roller holding rotation occurs. The members begin to rotate and the roller members begin to separate from each other.

The engagement portion between the moving force transmission member and the roller holding rotation member is not limited to a configuration using a long hole, but may be an engagement between a pin and a round hole. Here, if a round hole is used instead of the elongated hole in the configuration of Embodiment 1, when the upstream nip section starts to widen, the downstream nip section also starts to widen. At this time, if the upstream and downstream sides are configured to widen by the same amount, when the upstream nip opens due to component errors or assembly errors, the distance between the roller members will be There is a risk that the roller pair on the downstream side will be wider than the other roller pair. In this case, the conveyed object that has passed through the upstream pair of rollers cannot be held by the downstream roller pair and may fall. On the other hand, by using a long hole in the engaging portion, the downstream roller pair starts to spread out later than the upstream roller pair. This prevents the roller pair on the downstream side from becoming wider than the roller pair on the upstream side when the roller pair on the upstream side is holding the conveyed object, and prevents the roller pair on the upstream side from becoming wider. problems can be prevented.

[Aspect 5]
In the conveyance device according to aspect 3 or 4, the closest positions of the two roller members of the pair of surface moving bodies are located on the downstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the rotation axis, and the biasing means is arranged such that the roller members are positioned on the upstream side in the conveyance direction. The roller holding/turning member is biased so that the roller holding/turning member rotates in the direction of the roller holding/turning member.
According to this, when the conveyed object contacts the roller member and a force toward the downstream side in the conveyance direction acts on the roller member, a force causes the roller members to rotate in a direction in which the roller members are separated from each other with respect to the roller holding rotation member. can be made to work. Therefore, the moving force in the conveying direction of the conveyed object trying to pass through the roller pair tends to act as a force that separates the roller members from each other, resulting in a decrease in conveyance performance such as clogging of the conveyed object in the roller pair. can be suppressed.

[Aspect 6]
In the conveyance device according to any one of aspects 1 to 5, the conveyance path member pair may include a pair of guide members such as a pair of vertical conveyance guides 2 consisting of two guide members that guide the conveyed object in the conveyance direction. This is a characteristic feature.
According to this, it is possible to prevent the surface of the transported object from separating from the surface of the guide member and to align the transported object along the guide plate for transported objects of various thicknesses, thereby improving transport stability. It is possible to improve the

[Aspect 7]
The conveyance device according to any one of aspects 1 to 6 includes movable members such as the upstream vertical conveyance roller 11b and the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 that are movable in the thickness direction of the conveyed object at a predetermined position, and the distance between the members is changed. The means is characterized in that the distance between the conveying path members is changed in accordance with the amount of movement of the moving member in the thickness direction when the conveyed object comes into contact with the moving member.
According to this, the amount of movement of the moving member increases depending on the thickness of the object to be transported, and the distance between the transport path members can be changed depending on the amount of movement. Therefore, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the distance between the conveyance path members is changed according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position without providing a thickness sensor for detecting the thickness of the conveyed object.

[Aspect 8]
In the conveyance device according to aspect 7, the movable member is a pair of clamping members such as a pair of upstream vertical conveyance rollers 1b which clamp the conveyed object and whose clamping width changes depending on the thickness of the conveyed object, and the member distance changing means is characterized in that the distance between the conveyance path members is changed depending on the clamping width.
According to this, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the distance between the conveyance path members located downstream of the pair of clamping members is changed in accordance with a change in the clamping width of the pair of clamping members.

[Aspect 9]
In the conveyance device according to aspect 7 or 8, the movable member is a movable roller such as the upstream vertical conveyance roller 11b or the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 that rotates around a movable member rotation axis such as the vertical conveyance rotation axis 111 or the detection roller shaft 55a. It is a member that rotatably holds the movable roller member, and is rotatably supported on the upstream side with respect to the apparatus main body around rotational axes such as the upstream holding member rotational shaft 6b and the detection roller movement shaft 71. A moving roller holding rotation member such as a vertical conveyance roller holder 5b and a detection roller holding lever 53 is provided, and the inter-member distance changing means changes the distance between the conveyance path members according to the amount of rotation of the moving roller holding rotation member. It is characterized by:
According to this, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the distance between the conveyance path members is changed according to the movement amount of the moving member without providing a sensor for detecting the movement amount of the moving member or a drive source for moving the conveyance path member. I can do it.

[Aspect 10]
In the conveyance device according to aspect 9 having the configuration of any one of aspects 3 to 5, the moving force transmitting members such as the upstream link member 9b and the discharge upper roller moving link 54 engage with the moving roller holding rotation member, It is characterized in that it moves by the rotational movement of the movable roller holding rotational member, and this movement rotates the roller holding rotational members such as the downstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5a and the upper discharge roller holder 70.
According to this, the rotational movement of the movable roller holding rotation member can be transmitted to the roller holding rotation member by the moving force transmission member. For this reason, a configuration is realized in which the distance between the roller members, which are conveyance path members, is changed according to the movement amount of the moving member, without providing a sensor that detects the amount of movement of the moving member or a drive source that moves the conveyance path member. can do.

[Aspect 11]
In the conveying device according to aspect 10, a roller holding rotating member such as a downstream vertical conveying roller holder 5a that holds a roller member such as a downstream vertical conveying roller 11a, and a movable roller member such as an upstream vertical conveying roller 11b is held. The moving roller holding rotational member such as the upstream vertical conveyance roller holder 5b is a rotational member such as the vertical conveyance roller holder 5 having the same shape. Regarding the moving members, the rotating member on the most upstream side in the conveyance direction has the function of a moving roller holding rotating member, and the rotating member in the middle in the conveying direction has the functions of a moving roller holding rotating member and a roller holding rotating member. The rotary member on the most downstream side in the conveying direction is characterized in that it has the function of a roller holding rotary member.
According to this configuration, the plurality of pairs of roller members are separated from each other in advance, so that parts of the holding mechanism that holds each roller member can be made common.

[Aspect 12]
In the conveyance device according to aspect 10, the moving roller member such as the cardboard bundle detection roller 55 is not in contact with the opposing member such as the discharge conveyance belt 36 that faces across the conveyance path such as the discharge conveyance path 33 at a predetermined position. It is characterized by this.
According to this, when a conveyed object that is thicker than the gap between the non-contact moving roller member and the opposing member is conveyed, one of the roller members such as the upper discharge roller 38a is moved to the lower discharge roller 38b etc. It is possible to realize a configuration in which the roller member is separated from the other roller member in advance.

[Aspect 13]
In the conveying device according to any one of aspects 1 to 6, a conveyed object thickness detection means such as a roller movement amount sensor 101 or a paper feed sheet thickness detection sensor 81 that detects the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position; The present invention is characterized by comprising control means such as a control section 50 that controls inter-member distance changing means such as the roller movement solenoid 102 and the guide movement solenoid 82 based on the detection result by the conveyed object thickness detection means. .
According to this, it is possible to realize a configuration in which the distance between the conveyance path members is changed according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position without providing a complicated moving force transmission mechanism.

[Aspect 14]
While conveying plate-shaped objects such as sheets P sent out from a plurality of supply sections such as the paper feed section 14 through a collating conveyance path such as the collating conveyance path 25, they are overlapped with each other to form a bundle of conveyed objects such as a bundle of sheets Pb. In a collating device such as the collating device 10 to be created, the collating conveying mechanism 24 or the like according to any one of Aspects 1 to 13 is used as a conveying means for conveying a plate-like conveyed object on a collating conveying path. The present invention is characterized in that it is equipped with a conveying device.
According to this, even if the transported objects become thicker, it is possible to suppress the deterioration in transportability on the collation transport path.

[Aspect 15]
While conveying plate-shaped objects such as sheets P sent out from a plurality of supply sections such as the paper feed section 14 through a collating conveyance path such as the collating conveyance path 25, they are overlapped with each other to form a bundle of conveyed objects such as a bundle of sheets Pb. A collating device such as a collating device 10 that creates a bundle of articles, conveys the bundle through a discharge conveyance path such as the discharge conveyance path 33, and discharges the bundle of articles to the outside of the device, and serves as a conveying means for conveying the bundle of articles on the discharge conveyance path. , is characterized by comprising a conveyance device such as the discharge conveyance mechanism 31 according to any one of aspects 1 to 13.
According to this, even if the conveyed object conveyed to the discharge conveyance path becomes thicker, it is possible to suppress a decrease in conveyance performance on the discharge conveyance path.

1: Vertical transport roller pair 1A: First vertical transport roller pair 1B: Second vertical transport roller pair 1C: Third vertical transport roller pair 1a: Downstream vertical transport roller pair 1b: Upstream vertical transport roller pair 2: Vertical transport Guide pair 2A: First vertical transport guide pair 3: Transport direction change guide plate 4: Roller biasing spring 4a: Downstream roller biasing spring 4b: Upstream roller biasing spring 5: Vertical transport roller holder 5a: Downstream vertical Conveying roller holder 5b: Upstream vertical conveying roller holder 6: Holding member rotation axis 6a: Downstream holding member rotation axis 6b: Upstream holding member rotation axis 8: Horizontal conveyance roller pair 9: Link member 9b: Upstream side Link member 10: Collation device 11: Vertical transport roller 11a: Downstream vertical transport roller 11b: Upstream vertical transport roller 12: Housing 12A: Front frame 12B: Back frame 13: Spring holding frame 14: Paper feed section 14A: First collating paper feed section 14X: Folding paper feed section 15: Paper feed tray 16: Main operation panel 17: Conveyance roller drive input pulley 18: Paper feed mechanism 19: Conveyance roller drive input belt 20: Sub operation panel 21: Conveyance mechanism 22: Paper feed conveyance mechanism 24: Collation conveyance mechanism 26: Folded paper conveyance plate 28: Folded paper mounting plate pair 30: Fold stopper 31: Discharge conveyance mechanism 32: Folding knife 32a: Knife rotation shaft 33 : Discharge conveyance path 34 : Folding roller pair 35 : Post-folding guide plate 36 : Discharge conveyance belt 38 : Discharge roller pair 38a : Discharge upper roller 38b : Discharge lower roller 39 : Discharge conveyance section frame 39a : Discharge conveyance front frame 39b : Discharge Conveyance rear frame 40: Stacker tray 41: First drive input gear 42: Paper feed roller 43: Second drive input gear 44: Auxiliary paper feed roller 45: Discharge and conveyance drive input belt 46: Sabaki plate 47: Belt drive gear 48: Detection roller drive transmission belt 49 : Detection roller drive transmission gear 50 : Control unit 51 : Movement force input pin 51a : Downstream movement input pin 52 : Movement force output pin 52b : Upstream movement force output pin 53 : Detection roller holding lever 53a : Detection roller front holding lever 53b : Detection roller back holding lever 54 : Discharge upper roller moving link 54a : Discharge upper roller moving front link 54b : Discharge upper roller moving back link 55 : Cardboard bundle detection roller 55a : Detection roller shaft 56 : Link Rotation shaft 57: Paper presence detection sensor 58: Frame protrusion 59: Upper discharge roller push-up pin 60: Discharge drive input shaft 61: Discharge drive input gear 62: Discharge drive input belt 63: Lower discharge roller drive gear 64: Upper discharge roller Roller biasing spring 65: Upper discharge roller drive input belt 66: Upper discharge roller drive transmission gear 66a: Upper discharge roller moving shaft 67: Upper discharge roller drive gear 70: Upper discharge roller holder 71: Detection roller movement axis 71a: Detection roller Front moving shaft 71b: Detection roller Back moving shaft 72: Engagement shaft 72a: Front engaging shaft 72b: Back engaging shaft 74: Tension pulley 81: Paper thickness detection sensor 82: Guide moving solenoid 91: Elongated hole 91b :Upstream long hole 92 :Round hole 92b :Upstream round hole 101 :Roller movement amount sensor 102 :Roller movement solenoid 110 :Drive output belt 111 :Vertical conveyance rotation shaft 120 :Side plate frame 121 :Frame frame 300 :Media processing device 301: Supply tray 302: Pick-up roller 303: First conveyance roller pair 304: Second conveyance roller pair 305: Third conveyance roller pair 306: Media processing section 307: Medium discharge roller pair 308: Discharge tray 361: Belt drive roller 361a : Belt drive shaft 362 : Belt driven roller 362a : Belt driven shaft 381a : Upper discharge roller rotation shaft 381b : Lower discharge roller rotation shaft 551 : Detection roller drive input gear Bt : Paper bundle thickness P : Paper Pb : Paper bundle Pb1 : Thin paper Bundle Pb2: Cardboard bundle S: Plate-shaped medium

Claims (16)

In a conveyance device including a pair of conveyance path members having two conveyance path members facing each other across a conveyance path through which a plate-shaped conveyed object passes,
comprising an inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance between the conveyance path members according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of conveyance path members;
The conveyance path member pair includes a surface moving body pair consisting of two surface moving bodies that sandwich the conveyed object and move the surface;
comprising a biasing means for biasing one of the two surface moving bodies toward the other;
The surface moving body is a roller member that rotates around a rotation axis,
The member distance changing means rotatably holds the roller member and includes a roller holding rotation member rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The roller holding rotating member is engaged with and moving to rotate the roller holding rotating member, and the amount of movement varies depending on the thickness of the conveyed object at the predetermined position. a force transmission member;
The engaging portion between the moving force transmitting member and the roller holding rotating member is characterized in that one member has a long hole, and the other member has an engaging pin that engages with the long hole. Conveyance device. In a conveyance device including a pair of conveyance path members having two conveyance path members facing each other across a conveyance path through which a plate-shaped conveyed object passes,
comprising an inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance between the conveyance path members according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of conveyance path members;
The conveyance path member pair includes a surface moving body pair consisting of two surface moving bodies that sandwich the conveyed object and move the surface;
comprising a biasing means for biasing one of the two surface moving bodies toward the other;
The surface moving body is a roller member that rotates around a rotation axis,
The member distance changing means rotatably holds the roller member and includes a roller holding rotation member rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The roller holding rotating member is engaged with and moving to rotate the roller holding rotating member, and the amount of movement varies depending on the thickness of the conveyed object at the predetermined position. a force transmission member;
The closest positions of the two roller members of the pair of surface moving bodies are located downstream of the rotation axis in the conveyance direction, and the biasing means is configured to cause the roller members to move toward the upstream side of the conveyance direction. A conveying device characterized in that the roller holding and rotating member is biased so that the holding and rotating member rotates. In a conveyance device including a pair of conveyance path members having two conveyance path members facing each other across a conveyance path through which a plate-shaped conveyed object passes,
comprising an inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance between the conveyance path members according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of conveyance path members;
The conveyance path member pair includes a surface moving body pair consisting of two surface moving bodies that sandwich the conveyed object and move the surface;
comprising a biasing means for biasing one of the two surface moving bodies toward the other;
The surface moving body is a roller member that rotates around a rotation axis,
The member distance changing means rotatably holds the roller member and includes a roller holding rotation member rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The roller holding rotating member is engaged with and moving to rotate the roller holding rotating member, and the amount of movement varies depending on the thickness of the conveyed object at the predetermined position. a force transmission member;
comprising a moving member movable in the thickness direction of the conveyed object at the predetermined position,
The member-to-member distance changing means changes the distance between the transport path members in accordance with the amount of movement of the moving member in the thickness direction when the transported object contacts the moving member. ,
The moving member is a moving roller member that rotates around a moving member rotation axis,
a movable roller holding rotation member rotatably holding the movable roller member and rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The inter-member distance changing means is configured to change the distance between the conveyance path members according to the amount of rotation of the moving roller holding rotation member,
The moving force transmitting member is configured to engage with the moving roller holding rotation member, move by the rotational movement of the moving roller holding rotation member, and rotate the roller holding rotation member by this movement. ,
The roller holding rotational member that holds the roller member and the movable roller holding rotational member that holds the moving roller member are rotational members of the same shape,
Three rotating members are provided in the conveying direction,
Regarding the three rotating members,
The rotating member on the most upstream side in the conveyance direction has the function of the moving roller holding rotating member,
The rotating member in the middle in the conveyance direction has the functions of the moving roller holding rotating member and the roller holding rotating member,
A conveyance device characterized in that the rotary member on the most downstream side in the conveyance direction has a function of the roller holding rotary member. In a conveyance device including a pair of conveyance path members having two conveyance path members facing each other across a conveyance path through which a plate-shaped conveyed object passes,
comprising an inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance between the conveyance path members according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of conveyance path members;
The conveyance path member pair includes a surface moving body pair consisting of two surface moving bodies that sandwich the conveyed object and move the surface;
comprising a biasing means for biasing one of the two surface moving bodies toward the other;
The surface moving body is a roller member that rotates around a rotation axis,
The member distance changing means rotatably holds the roller member and includes a roller holding rotation member rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The roller holding rotating member is engaged with and moving to rotate the roller holding rotating member, and the amount of movement varies depending on the thickness of the conveyed object at the predetermined position. a force transmission member;
comprising a moving member movable in the thickness direction of the conveyed object at the predetermined position,
The member-to-member distance changing means changes the distance between the transport path members in accordance with the amount of movement of the moving member in the thickness direction when the transported object contacts the moving member. ,
The moving member is a moving roller member that rotates around a moving member rotation axis,
a movable roller holding rotation member rotatably holding the movable roller member and rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The inter-member distance changing means is configured to change the distance between the conveyance path members according to the amount of rotation of the moving roller holding rotation member,
The moving force transmitting member is configured to engage with the moving roller holding rotation member, move by the rotational movement of the moving roller holding rotation member, and rotate the roller holding rotation member by this movement. ,
The conveyance device is characterized in that the moving roller member is not in contact with an opposing member that faces across the conveyance path at the predetermined position . The conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 4 ,
A conveyance device characterized in that the conveyance path member pair includes a guide member pair consisting of two guide members that guide the conveyed object in the conveyance direction. The conveyance device according to claim 1 or 2,
comprising a moving member movable in the thickness direction of the conveyed object at the predetermined position,
The member-to-member distance changing unit changes the distance between the transport path members in accordance with the amount of movement of the moving member in the thickness direction when the transported object contacts the moving member. Conveyance device for The conveying device according to any one of claims 3, 4 or 6 ,
The moving member is a pair of clamping members that clamp the conveyed object and whose clamping width changes depending on the thickness of the conveyed object,
The conveyance device is characterized in that the inter-member distance changing means changes the distance between the conveyance path members according to the clamping width. The conveying device according to claim 6 ,
The moving member is a moving roller member that rotates around a moving member rotation axis,
a movable roller holding rotation member rotatably holding the movable roller member and rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The conveyance device is characterized in that the inter-member distance changing means changes the distance between the conveyance path members according to the amount of rotation of the movable roller holding rotary member. The conveying device according to claim 1 or 2,
comprising a moving member movable in the thickness direction of the conveyed object at the predetermined position,
The inter-member distance changing means changes the distance between the conveyance path members according to the amount of movement of the moving member in the thickness direction when the conveyed object contacts the moving member,
The moving member is a moving roller member that rotates around a moving member rotation axis,
a movable roller holding rotation member rotatably holding the movable roller member and rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The inter-member distance changing means changes the distance between the conveyance path members according to the amount of rotation of the moving roller holding rotation member,
The moving force transmitting member is engaged with the moving roller holding rotating member, moves by the rotational movement of the moving roller holding rotating member, and rotates the roller holding rotating member by this movement. Conveyance device for The conveying device according to claim 1 or 2,
Transported object thickness detection means for detecting the thickness of the transported object at the predetermined position;
A conveying apparatus comprising: a control means for controlling the inter-member distance changing means based on a detection result by the conveyed object thickness detecting means. A collating device that creates a bundle of transported objects by stacking them on top of each other while transporting plate-shaped transported objects sent out from a plurality of supply units on a collating transport path,
A collating device comprising the conveying device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 as a conveying means for conveying the plate-shaped articles on the collating conveyance path. A collating device that creates a bundle of transported objects by overlapping each other while transporting plate-shaped objects sent out from a plurality of supply sections through a collating transport path, and transports the bundle of transported objects through a discharge transport path and discharges them outside the device. And,
A collating device comprising the conveyance device according to any one of claims 1 to 10 as a conveyance means for conveying the bundle of articles on the discharge conveyance path. A collating device that creates a bundle of transported objects by stacking them on top of each other while transporting plate-shaped transported objects sent out from a plurality of supply units on a collating transport path,
As a conveyance means for conveying the plate-shaped conveyed object on the collation conveyance path,
a conveyance path member pair having two conveyance path members facing each other across a conveyance path through which a plate-shaped conveyed object passes;
an inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance between the conveyance path members according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of conveyance path members;
The inter-member distance changing means changes the distance between the transport path members when the thickness of the transported object at the predetermined position exceeds the predetermined thickness, and A collating device characterized in that the distance between the conveyance path members is not changed when the thickness is less than the thickness. A collating device that creates a bundle of transported objects by overlapping each other while transporting plate-shaped objects sent out from a plurality of supply sections through a collating transport path, and transports the bundle of transported objects through a discharge transport path and discharges them outside the device. And,
As a conveyance means for conveying the bundle of conveyance items on the discharge conveyance path,
a conveyance path member pair having two conveyance path members facing each other across a conveyance path through which a plate-shaped conveyed object passes;
an inter-member distance changing means for changing the distance between the conveyance path members according to the thickness of the conveyed object at a predetermined position on the upstream side in the conveyance direction with respect to the pair of conveyance path members;
The member-to-member distance changing means changes the distance between the transport path members when the thickness of the transported object at the predetermined position exceeds the predetermined thickness, and A collating device characterized in that the distance between the conveyance path members is not changed when the thickness is less than or equal to the thickness. The collating device according to claim 13 or 14,
The conveyance path member pair includes a surface moving body pair consisting of two surface moving bodies that sandwich the conveyed object and move the surface;
comprising a biasing means for biasing one of the two surface moving bodies toward the other;
The member distance changing means changes the distance by separating the surface moving bodies constituting the surface moving body pair when the thickness of the conveyed object at the predetermined position exceeds the predetermined thickness. . A collating device, wherein the distance between the surface moving bodies is not changed when the thickness of the conveyed object is equal to or less than the predetermined thickness. The collating device according to claim 15,
The surface moving body is a roller member that rotates around a rotation axis,
The member distance changing means rotatably holds the roller member and includes a roller holding rotation member rotatably supported about a rotation axis with respect to the apparatus main body;
The roller holding rotating member is engaged with and moving to rotate the roller holding rotating member, and the amount of movement varies depending on the thickness of the conveyed object at the predetermined position. a force transmission member;
The moving force transmitting member rotates the roller holding rotating member to separate the roller members from each other to change the distance when the thickness of the transported object exceeds the predetermined thickness. A collating device characterized in that the roller holding rotating member is not rotated and the distance between the roller members is not changed when the thickness of the conveying body is equal to or less than the predetermined thickness.

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