JPH01226634A - Card feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To smoothen take-out operation of a card by reducing mistakes in suction with a vacuum pad by a method wherein the vacuum pad and a pressing roller are rockingly driven each via cams by means of two rotary shafts rotated in association by one and the same rotary driving machine. CONSTITUTION:A take-out lever 32 is rockingly driven by rotation of a first cam 38, a vacuum pad 34 rises from right under a card support surface 9 to the point which abuts cards in an opening 4 of a hopper 2 to suck a card 50 of bottom layer, and the vacuum pad 34 is inverted to descend back to the position of the solid line for releasing. On the other hand, a delivery lever 20, which was in a waiting position 44, starts rocking in the direction of the arrow Y by the rotation of a second cam 26 and proceeds to the farthest limit point which does not hamper the transfer of the card 50 to the support surface 9. The delivery lever 20 is pressed onto the card 50 soon after the card 50 is transferred onto the support surface 9, then the card 50 is delivered in the direction of the arrow X by being clampingly pressed between a rotating roller 11 and a pressing roller 22 to be fed to a succeeding bar code reader, etc., via a delivery roller 14.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a card feeding device that takes out cards made of paper or other flexible material one by one from a hopper and sends them to post-process equipment such as a reader.

(Prior art) A barcode card (hereinafter simply referred to as a card), which is made by covering a piece of paper with barcodes printed with various production information and covered with a vinyl sheet, is a barcode card (hereinafter simply referred to as a card). It is difficult to take out using a friction roller because the spaces between the parts do not easily slide against each other. For this reason, a removal method using vacuum suction using a vacuum pad is generally adopted. FIG. 5 schematically shows an example of this, in which an opening 52 is provided at the bottom of a hopper 51 that stores cards 50 in a stacked manner, and a claw-like shape is provided around the opening 52 to engage with the lower edge of the card 50. A locking piece 53 is protruded to hold the card 50, and a vacuum pad 54 is reciprocated with respect to the lowest card 50 in this state to take out one card 50 onto the traverse transfer path 55. A rotating roller 56 is rotating under the removed card 50a, and after removing the card, the presser row 557 is moved to hold the card 50a between it and the rotating roller 56.
When the card 5 is squeezed, the driving force of the rotary row 556
0a is sent out in the direction of arrow X, and the supply of - cards ends.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, in the conventional card feeding device described above, the reciprocating drive of the vacuum pad 54 and the reciprocating drive of the press roller 57 are both performed by separate air cylinders, so the reciprocating speed (piston speed) is slow (and the reciprocating speed of both cylinders is slow). It was necessary to perform pneumatic control so that the operations of the cards were interlocked, which resulted in a large time loss, and the number of cards processed per hour was small, making high-speed processing difficult.

Furthermore, when the card 50 is sucked by the vacuum pad 54 and taken out from the hopper 51, since there is only one vacuum pad 54 and the resistance of the locking piece 53 is large, the card 50
is greatly curved and the suction of the vacuum pad 54 comes off.
There were also many accidents in which it became impossible to remove.

The present invention is intended to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, and its first object is to provide a card supply device that can process a large number of cards per hour. Still another object of the present invention is to provide a card supply device that can reliably take out cards from a hopper and supply them to the outside with less malfunction.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above object, the card feeding device of the present invention includes a hopper provided with a locking piece in an opening at the lower end that engages with the lower edge of the card and arranged at an angle with respect to the vertical direction;
a traversal transfer path extending laterally from a card support surface provided below the opening and having a rotating roller for driving the card feeding on the card support surface; and a take-out path rotatably supported on the machine frame. A vacuum pad is attached to a lever and is driven to swing between a position where it abuts the card in the opening and a position on the card support surface, and a vacuum pad is attached to a delivery lever that is swingably supported on the machine frame and is moved against the rotating roller. a presser roller that is driven to swing between a pressing position and a side retraction position; a second rotating shaft parallel to the first rotating shaft and the swing axis of the delivery lever; and a second rotating shaft that is fixed to the first rotating shaft and engages with a follower attached to the take-out lever to swing the vacuum pad. 1 cam, and a second cam that is fixed to the second rotation shaft and engages with a follower attached to the delivery lever to swing the presser roller, and is attracted to the vacuum pad and The pressing roller presses the card transferred to the card supporting surface section.

Further, it is preferable that two vacuum pads are arranged side by side on the ejection lever at intervals in the card longitudinal direction, and the vacuum pads are preferably swingable.

Further, as the locking piece provided at the opening of the hopper, it is preferable to use one having a card fall prevention roller that comes into contact with the lower surface of the card.

(Function) In the card feeding device of the present invention, the take-out lever to which the vacuum pad is attached is oscillated by the first cam attached to the first rotation shaft, and the vacuum pad supports the card support at the opening of the hopper and the traverse transfer path. It moves back and forth between the surfaces, sucks and takes out the card from the opening of the hopper, and places it on the card supporting surface.

In addition, the feed lever to which the presser roller is attached is oscillated by a second cam attached to the second rotating shaft, and the presser roller reciprocates between the pressing position where it is pressed by the rotating roller and the side retracted position. The card on the bearing surface is pressed against the rotating roller to feed the card laterally along the traverse transport path. Since the first and second rotating shafts are driven by the same rotary drive machine and are interlocked via a gear train, the operation timing of the vacuum pad and presser roller is determined only by the profiles of the first and second cams. Therefore, there is no need for complex control to interlock the operations of the vacuum pad and presser roller, which is required when driving the vacuum pad and presser roller using separate drives.The rotary drive only needs to rotate continuously, and the interlock time is is also no longer necessary.

In addition, by using a take-out lever with vacuum pads arranged parallel to each other in the longitudinal direction of the card, there is less curvature of the card when the card is sucked and pulled out from the opening of the hopper, and the suction of the card is maintained, reducing the occurrence of suction errors. be done.

Furthermore, if the vacuum pad is made swingable, the card will curve when being pulled out from the opening, causing the 1.
The vacuum pad follows the curvature and maintains card adsorption more reliably.

In addition, if a locking piece attached to the opening of the hopper is equipped with a card fall prevention roller that contacts the bottom surface of the card, there will be less resistance when pulling the card out of the opening, and the card will be pulled out smoothly. This prevents vacuum pad suction mistakes.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. 1 to 4.

In the figure, 1 is a main body housing each drive mechanism, and 2 is a hopper fixed on this main body 1. Reference numeral 3 denotes a guide member made of two angle members arranged obliquely in the vertical direction, and a support frame 5 having an opening 4 is fixed to the lower end of the guide member. A locking piece 6 is fixed to the support frame 5 and the support leg 7 of the hopper, and a card fall prevention roller 6b is pivotally supported on the locking piece main body 6a.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, each locking piece 6 is provided so as to protrude into the opening 4 so that a portion of the locking piece 6 is hooked onto the card 50.

On the other hand, on the upper surface of the main body 1, one end 8a is arranged in the horizontal direction (arrow
A shallow groove-shaped traversal transfer path 8 is provided which is open in the direction (direction), and 9 is a card supporting surface formed at the other end. 11
is rotatably supported on the machine frame 12 by a rotary row arm that protrudes a small amount from an opening 8b provided in the card support surface 9, and is continuously rotated by an electric motor 13 via a belt (not shown). ing. Reference numeral 14 denotes a delivery row arm attached as necessary, which has the same structure as the rotary row 511 and is an electric I! 113, and a presser foot O-ra 18, which is attached to a support frame 16 fixed to the cover 1a of the main body 1 and is biased downward via a spring 17.
It consists of Reference numeral 20 denotes a delivery lever that is swingably supported on the machine frame 12 by a support shaft 21, and the support shaft 23 of the presser roller 22 facing the rotating roller 11 is attached to the connecting plate 2Oa portion that connects the two lever plates. be. 24 is a spring that urges the support shaft 23 downward. A second rotating shaft 25 is rotatably supported on the machine frame 12, and a second cam (plate cam) 26 fixed to one end of the second rotating shaft is engaged with a follower 27 consisting of a roller attached to the delivery lever 20. ing. 28 is the follower 27
This is a spring that presses the outer periphery of the second cam 26. As shown in FIG. 2, the other end of the second rotary shaft 25 is connected to the output shaft of a rotary drive machine 29 consisting of a worm gear motor through a joint 30.
are connected via.

Further, in FIGS. 2 and 3, reference numeral 32 denotes a take-out lever that is swingably supported on the machine frame 12 by a support shaft 33, and two vacuum pads 34 are attached to its tip.

This vacuum pad 34 has a built-in spherical joint, and the head 3
4a has a structure that allows it to swing freely relative to the support shaft 34b. These two vacuum pads 34 are arranged in parallel at intervals in the longitudinal direction of the card 50, and are connected to the hose 35, respectively.
is connected to a vacuum pump (not shown) via a
After contacting the card 50, the card 50 is reversed and lowered to the vicinity of the card support surface 9, while the card 50 is evacuated via the hose 35 by the 8111 means such as the vacuum pump and a known valve.

Reference numeral 37 denotes a first rotary wheel rotatably supported on the machine frame 12, and a first cam 38 fixed to one end of the first rotary wheel 37 has a take-out lever 32.
A follower 39 consisting of a roller mounted on the roller is engaged.

40 is a spring that presses the follower 39 against the outer periphery of the first cam 38. As shown in FIG. 2, a bevel gear 41 is fixed to the other end of the first rotating ring 37, and this bevel gear 41 meshes with a bevel gear 42 having the same number of teeth that is fixed to the second rotating shaft 25. ing.

In order to separate the cards 50 stacked in the hopper 2 one by one and feed them laterally in the card feeding device 43 having the above configuration, the rotary drive machine 29 and the electric motor 13 are continuously operated. The first @ rotating shaft 37 and the second rotating shaft 25 are connected to the bevel gear 4
They rotate together through a gear train consisting of gears 1 and 42. Along with this rotation, first, the ejection lever 32 is oscillated by the rotation of the first cam 38, and the vacuum pad 34 rises from the position directly below the card support surface 9 shown by the solid line in FIG.
As shown by the chain line in FIG. 3, it rises to the position where it contacts the card in the opening 4 of the hopper 2, and after adsorbing the lowest card 50, it is reversed and descends to the position shown by the solid line, and the adsorption is released. . On the other hand, the delivery lever 20, which was in the retracted position 44 shown by the chain line in FIG.
The card 50 has advanced to the limit position where it does not interfere with upward movement, and once the card 50 is transferred onto the card support surface 9, it is pressed onto the card 50 after a short time, and the card 50 is moved between the rotating row 511 and the presser roller 22. The sheet is pinched and sent out in the direction of the arrow X, and is supplied to a subsequent barcode reader or the like via the sending roller 14. Next, the delivery lever 20 is in the retracted position 1144.
The process returns to , and the same operations as above are repeated to separate and send out the cards.

Also, when taking out the card 50 from the hopper 2 using the vacuum pad 34, the vacuum pad 34 is
Since they are arranged side by side and swing freely, even if the card 50 is curved when being pulled out from the opening 4, the vacuum pad 34 follows the curve and reliably maintains card suction.

Further, the card drop prevention roller 6b of the locking piece 6 generates only a small resistance force against the card 50 being pulled out, and smoothly sends out the card. Therefore, the card 50 will not be caught by the locking piece 6 and the suction of the vacuum pad 34 will not be interrupted.

Using the card feeding device 43 with the above configuration, the external dimensions are 2.
When processing vinyl-covered barcode cards with a thickness of 05mm x 1 x 100a, 200 cards could be processed in 160 seconds without any suction errors. On the other hand, as a comparative example, when the same card was processed using the conventional device shown in Fig. 5, it took 200 seconds (excluding the processing time due to suction errors) to process 200 cards, and 5 cards were picked up incorrectly. Occurred.

The present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiment, and for example, the shape of the hopper 2 may be other than the above-mentioned shape. Further, in the above embodiment, the second rotating shaft 25 is connected to the output shaft of the rotary drive machine 29, but the first rotating shaft 37 may be connected instead, or as a gear train that interlocks both rotating shafts. teeth,
In addition to bevel gears, screw gears can also be used. The present invention can also be applied to supply devices for various cards other than barcode cards.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As explained above, according to the present invention, the vacuum pad and the presser roller are oscillated by the two interlocking rotating shafts driven by the same rotating WALLI machine through the cams, so that the air cylinder is driven. The operating speed is faster than when using the cam as a source, and by selecting the profile of each cam, the vacuum pad and presser roller can be operated at the optimal timing, eliminating the need for complicated am and time for interrotation of both operations. Therefore, a card supply device that can process a large number of cards per hour can be obtained.

Furthermore, in the card feeding device of the second aspect, the amount of curvature of the card when the card is pulled out from the opening of the hot spring is reduced, and in the card feeding device of the third aspect, the ability of the vacuum pad to follow the curved card is reduced. In the card feeding device according to claim 4, the resistance force when pulling out the card from the opening of the hopper is reduced, and in both cases, suction errors of the vacuum pad are reduced, and the card is reliably and smoothly taken out without any malfunction. It can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway front view of a card feeding device showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway plan view of the same, and FIG. 3 is an A-AI! ! Cross-sectional view, Figure 4 is B- in Figure 3.
Bll sectional view, FIG. 5 is a schematic vertical sectional view showing an example of a conventional card feeding device. 2... Hopper, 4... Opening, 6... Locking piece, 6
b...Card fall prevention roller, 8...Traverse transfer path,
9... Card support surface, 11... Rotating roller, 12...
...Machine frame, 13...Electric motor, 20...Delivery lever,
21... Support shaft, 22... Presser roller, 25... Second rotating shaft, 26... Second cam, 27... Follower, 2
9... Rotation drive machine, 32... Take-out lever, 33...
・Support shaft, 34... Vacuum pad, 37... 1st
Rotating shaft, 38... First cam, 39... Follower, 41
... Bevel gear, 42... Bevel gear, 43... Card feeding device, 44... Retreat position, 50... Card.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A hopper provided with a locking piece that engages with the lower edge of the card in an opening at the lower end and arranged at an angle with respect to the vertical direction; and a hopper provided below the opening. A traversal transfer path extends laterally from the card support surface and is provided with a rotating roller for driving the card delivery on the card support surface, and a traversal transfer path is attached to a take-out lever that is swingably supported on the machine frame to carry the card in the opening. a vacuum pad that is driven to swing between a position where it abuts the card support surface and the position of the card support surface, and a pressing position where it is attached to a delivery lever that is swingably supported on the machine frame and is pressed against the rotating roller and the side. a presser roller that is driven to swing between retracted positions; a first rotating shaft parallel to the swing axis of the take-out lever that is driven by a rotary drive machine and interlocked via a gear train; and a swing of the delivery lever. a second rotating shaft parallel to the moving axis; a first cam that is fixed to the first rotating shaft and engages with a follower attached to the take-out lever to swing the vacuum pad; and the second rotating shaft. a second cam that is fixed to the feed lever and engages with a follower attached to the feed lever to swing the presser roller; A card feeding device in which the presser roller presses the card against the card. 2. The card feeding device according to claim 1, wherein two vacuum pads are arranged on the ejection lever at intervals in the card longitudinal direction. 3. The card feeding device according to claim 2, wherein the vacuum pad is swingably attached to the ejection lever. 4. The card feeding device according to claim 1, 2 or 3, wherein the locking piece includes a card drop prevention roller that comes into contact with the lower surface of the card.