JPH02231327A - Media discrimination device in cassette - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To make it possible that the control of media does not become complicated even the media specification ranges over amy divergences and can be easily processed even setting is erroneously performed by mounting a media discrimination device provided with a draw-out/draw-back means of media, etc., in front and in rear of an equipment that feeds media in a cassette. CONSTITUTION:When a cassette 1 is acknowledged by a sensor, a draw-out roller 13 is actuated and draws out paper 10 one by one. When 2 sheets or more are erroneously drawn out overlapping each other, the paper under the second sheet stops on a separation piece 14 by the separation piece 14, and only one sheet on the top is fed by the draw-out roller 13. Successively, the paper 10 is sent to a position detection sensor 17, and after the position is confirmed by the sensor 17, further sent until a discrimination sensor 18, and the marker of paper is read. If adequate, the paper is sent to a processing process by a feed roller 20 remaining intact. And when the paper is inadequate, the draw-out roller 13 reversely rotates and sends back the paper 10 until the position where it does not contact with the draw-out roller 13, an error indication is displayed, and it is returned to the cassette.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention relates to a medium identification device in a cassette in an automatic medium feeding device.

[Prior Art] Conventionally used methods for identifying media, such as paper, set in a cassette in automatic media feeding devices include: There are two methods: - A method for identifying by using the difference in size - A method for forming a mark on the cassette body and detecting it with a detector - A method for forming a mark on the medium and detecting the mark for identification. .

5 and 6 show the second method of the above medium identification methods, FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing the mark on the cassette, and FIG. 6 is a front view of the mark detection device. In the figure, 1 is a cassette, 2 is a protrusion, 3 is a cassette guide, 4 is a stopper,
5 is a detection lever, 6 is a detection switch, 7 is a fulcrum, and 8 is a spring.

As a mark indicating the specifications of the medium stored in the cassette 1, a protrusion 2 is formed on the side of the cassette 1 as shown in FIG. . When there are three protrusions as shown in the figure, 8N classifications can be made depending on the presence or absence of protrusions at each position. Therefore, if media with different specifications are stored according to each mark on the cassette, the protrusion position will be 3.
In the case of 8 types of media, it is possible to store media with 8 different specifications.

A detection device shown in FIG. 6 is used to identify the specifications of the medium inside the cassette. Detection levers 5 are arranged in the detection device in correspondence with the positions of the protrusions. To identify the mark on the cassette 1, the cassette 1 is placed on the cassette guide 3 of the detection device with the side provided with the mark against the stop.

Since the detection lever 5 is normally pulled by the spring 8 around the fulcrum 7, its lower end 5a is not in contact with the detection switch 6, but in the position where the protrusion 2 is present, the detection lever 5 is in the position shown in the figure. When pressed to the left, the lower end 5a comes into contact with the detection switch 6 and closes the circuit, thereby determining the presence or absence of the protrusion. Based on the combination of the presence and absence of these protrusions, the differences between the eight types of marks and, therefore, the specifications of the internal medium can be determined. This identified marker information is sent to a storage device and stored.

The identification method (2) is a method in which one medium is taken out of the cassette and placed on an identification device for identification. One medium that is removed is discarded.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Among the various identification methods described above, method (2) has a drawback that it is difficult to apply when the specifications of the medium extend beyond the dimensions of paper.

Next, the method (2) of detecting marks formed on cassettes is effective when there are only a few types of media, but as the number of types of media increases, the number of types of cassettes that house the media must also increase, and the number of markings increases accordingly. As the number of types increases, managing the stock becomes difficult.

Also, when using cassettes of the same size, paper may be set incorrectly in the cassette, but in such a case, the detection device identifies the mark on the cassette, so it cannot detect the incorrect setting and will process the paper as it is. It is difficult to say that it is a foolproof method as there is a risk of

In addition, method (2) of reading the mark formed on the medium involves taking out the medium from the cassette for identification and applying it to a detection device. There are disadvantages such as the uneconomical effect of wasting one medium, and the difficulty in identifying the media when a plurality of types of media are stored in the cassette.

The present invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of conventional devices, and it does not involve complicated management even when the specifications of the media are diverse. It is an object of the present invention to provide a medium identification device that can process even when the medium is set in a cassette.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, a medium identification device according to the present invention includes means for supporting a cassette containing a large number of stacked media each having a mark formed on a portion thereof, The device is configured to include means for identifying the mark, and means for feeding out the media in the cassette one by one to the identification means, or returning the medium that has been fed out into the cassette.

[Operation] The medium identification device according to the present invention is configured as described above,
It is installed before the equipment that sends the media to the treatment process. Therefore, before the media are sent to the processing step, the medium identification means identifies one by one whether or not the medium is suitable for the processing step, and only those that are suitable are sent to the processing step, and those that are not suitable are stored in the cassette. returned and removed. This not only eliminates malfunctions in which media with inappropriate specifications are sent to the processing step and is processed, but also allows only one type of cassette to be used, and media with different specifications can be stored in the same cassette.

[Embodiment of the Invention] FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a medium identification device showing an embodiment of the present invention, in which 1 is a cassette, 10 is a medium (paper) stored in the cassette, and 11 is a medium (paper) stored in the cassette. Always hold paper with arrow 12
13 is a feeding roller for feeding the sheets of paper 10 one by one; 14 is a separation piece that is constantly pressed in the direction of arrow 15 by a spring (not shown); 16 is a sheet guide; 17 is a A medium position identification sensor, 18 is an identification sensor unit, 19 is a sheet guide, 20 is a feed roller, 21 is a sensor for detecting the position of a feeding roller,
22 is a slit indicating the position of the feeding roller.

Next, the operation will be explained. As shown in FIG. 2, a large number of sheets of paper 10 having markings 10a formed on their front edges are stacked and stored in a cassette 1, and are pressed by a spring 11 from the bottom.

When the setting of the cassette 1 in the apparatus is confirmed by a sensor (not shown), the feeding roller 13 is operated to feed out the sheets of paper 10 from the cassette 1 one by one. If two or more sheets are accidentally fed out on top of each other, the separating piece 14 is moved so that the second and subsequent sheets are stopped on the separating piece 14 and only the upper one is fed by the feeding roller 13, so that the separating piece 14 is is made of a material with a large coefficient of friction, and is pressed in the direction of arrow 15 by a spring (not shown) or the like. Subsequently, the paper 10 is sent to a position detection sensor 17, and after its position is confirmed by the sensor 17, it is further sent to an identification sensor 18. Next, the identification sensor unit 18 reads the label on the paper,
If it meets your request, just feed the feed roller 2.
0 is sent to the processing step. In addition, if the sent paper is determined by the identification sensor unit 18 to be unsuitable for the request,
The feed roller 13 reverses, the paper 10 is returned to a position where it does not come into contact with the feed roller 13, an error message is displayed, and the paper returned to the cassette is removed. Note that all the marks read by the identification sensor unit are stored in the storage device and become medium type information. Thereafter, the feeding roller 13 is stopped at the original position by the roller position detection sensor 21.

FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing the above operation. That is, when the medium identification device is started (step 50) and a cassette containing paper 10 is set in the device (step 51), the setting of the cassette is checked by a sensor (step 52), and the cassette is checked to make sure it is set at a predetermined position. For example, the feeding roller 13 rotates forward to feed out the sheets one by one (step 53). When the fed paper reaches the medium position identification sensor 17, the sensor 17 checks the position of the paper (step 54), and if the paper is in the predetermined position, the paper is further fed (step 55), and the paper is transferred to the identification sensor 1.
It reaches 6. The identification sensor 16 reads the label on the paper (step 56) and stores the read label (step 5).
7). The sensor then determines whether the paper is suitable for the processing process (step 58), and if it is, it is sent to the processing process (step 59), and if it is not, it is sent to the feed roller. 13 and put the paper back into the cassette (step 60), an error message is displayed (
Step 61), and remove the paper (Step 62).

After this, the process returns to step 53 and repeats the same operation.

The sheets 10 processed in this manner are checked one by one for their markings before being sent to the processing step, and only sheets that meet the requirements of the processing step are sent to the processing step, and sheets that are unsuitable for the requirements of the processing step are checked. is returned to the cassette and removed. This makes paper processing simple and reliable. Further, since a mark indicating the specifications is formed on the paper, the cassette for storing the paper IO only needs to be 1m, and moreover, a plurality of types of paper with different specifications can be stored in one cassette. Therefore, management is much easier than in the conventional method in which sheets of different specifications are stored in separate cassettes.

Note that FIG. 3 is a configuration diagram of a gear train showing an embodiment of a mechanism for rotating the feeding roller 13 in the forward and reverse directions.

As shown in the figure, when the motor 30 is driven clockwise,
Planetary gear 35 via gears 31, 32, 33, and 34
is rotated counterclockwise, and a gear 36 coaxial with the feed-out roller 13 that meshes with the planetary gear 35 is rotated in the direction of arrow 39, so that the feed-out roller 13 functions to feed out the paper from the cassette 1. In order to store the fed paper into the cassette 1, the motor 30 is reversed and the planetary gear 35 is engaged with the gear 37, and the belt 38 rotates the feeding roller 13 counterclockwise, so that the feeding roller 13 is not fed out. The paper 10 is returned to the cassette 1.

Note that the specifications of the paper feeding and returning means are not limited to the present embodiment.

[Effects of the Invention] In the present invention, a medium identification device comprising a cassette support means, a medium identification means, and a medium feeding/returning means is disposed upstream of the equipment for feeding the medium in the cassette. We were able to achieve excellent results as described in .

(1) When feeding the medium to the medium processing step, only the medium with specifications suitable for the processing equipment is fed, so there is no wastage of the medium and processing efficiency is improved.

(2) Only one type of cassette is required to store the media, and
Since multiple types of media with different specifications can be stored in individual cassettes, management of cassettes and media becomes easy.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a configuration diagram of a medium identification device in a cassette which is an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a label on a medium, and FIG.
The figure is a configuration diagram of the forward/reverse rotation mechanism of the feeding roller, Figure 4 is a flowchart of the operation, Figure 5 is a perspective view of a conventional cassette equipped with a marker, and Figure 6 is a front view of a conventional cassette marker detection device. It is a diagram. In the figure, 1 is a cassette, 10 is paper, 11 is a spring, 13 is a feeding roller, 14 is a separation piece, 16 is a sheet guide, 1
7 is a medium position sensor, and 18 is a medium identification sensor unit. Note that the same reference numerals in the figures indicate the same or equivalent parts. fig.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] Means for supporting a cassette containing overlapping media with labels formed on some of them, means for feeding out or returning the media in the cassette one by one, and a label for identifying the label of the medium. and an identification means, and if the medium is identified by the identification means as being suitable for the processing step, the medium is sent to the processing step, and if the medium is identified as unsuitable for the processing step, the medium is placed in a cassette. A medium identification device in a cassette, the device being configured to be retractable.