JPH03259850A - Card feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To meet something wrong in a card feeding so speedily by releasing a link motion between a pickup roller and a feed roller when a sensor means detected a card tip, and then resetting the link motion between these rollers when detecting the card rear end the other way. CONSTITUTION:The tip of a card C taken into a conveying passage from a card storage part by a pickup roller 12 reaches a feed roller 14 before long. As this feed roller is interlocked with the pickup roller, successively the card is further fed to the destination of a conveying passage 11 by the feed roller. At this time, since there is provided a clutch means 37 which releases a link motion between the pickup roller and the feed roller at a time when a sensor means 19 detected the tip of the card, the pickup roller comes to a stop by action of a clutch means when the card tip comes into contact with the feed roller and the sensor means has detected the card tip, and afterward, at time of detecting the rear end, both these rollers are reset to the interlocked state.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Field of Industrial Application] The present invention particularly relates to a card feeding device used in a card image reader that reads the written contents of various cards as image data.

[Conventional technology]

This type of card feeding device consists of a card case that stores cards to be read in a stacked state, a pickup roller that introduces the cards from inside the card case into a conveyance path, and cards that are sent in a stacked state from the pickup roller. It is equipped with a separator roller that separates and sends cards one by one, and a feed roller that works in conjunction with a pickup roller and feeds the cards sent from the pickup roller further to the end of the conveyance path.

Half of the bottom plate of the card case is open, and a pick-up roller faces from below to guide the stacked cards sequentially from the bottom to a conveyance path and send them to a separator roller. The separation roller roller is configured so that a separation rubber and a rotating roller (which constitutes a drive system in the case of a device without a pickup roller) are opposed to each other and the card is guided between the two. The separating rubber is biased toward the rotating roller by a coil spring, and when cards fed by the pickup roller are stacked, the upper card stops feeding due to the friction of the separating rubber, and only the lower card is stacked. It can be sent to the destination using a pickup roller (or a rotating roller that constitutes the drive system if there is no pickup roller). Further, the pickup roller and the feed roller are interlocked so that the card sent from the pickup roller can be further fed to the reading unit side on the forward side of the conveyance path.

[Problem to be solved by the invention]

In conventional devices, the pickup roller and filter roller work together, so there is no problem when the device is operating normally, but if there is a problem with card feeding at the end of the pickup roller due to a jam, etc., the pickup roller Since the rollers do not stop feeding the cart, cards are fed one after another, which not only damages the device but also poses a risk of further damage to multiple cards.

Furthermore, since the pickup roller sends the card into the conveyance path by the frictional force of its roller surface, it is necessary to urge the card toward the pickup roller in order to draw out sufficient frictional force. However, there has been no consideration given to which position on the pickup roller the biasing force should be applied to in order to efficiently feed the card into the conveyance path.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to provide a card feeding device that can quickly deal with abnormalities in card feeding and biases the card to guide it into a transport path to facilitate card feeding.

[Means to solve the problem]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 includes a pickup roller that introduces the card from inside the card storage section into the conveyance path, and a pickup roller that operates in conjunction with the pickup roller to further transport the card sent from the pickup roller to the end of the conveyance path. A feed roller that feeds the card, a sensor means that detects the leading edge and a trailing edge of the card being conveyed on the conveyance path ahead of the feed roller, and when the sensor means detects the leading edge of the card, the interlock between the pickup roller and the feed roller is released. In the invention as claimed in claim 2, further comprising a clutch means for restoring the interlocking action between the pick-up roller and the feed roller when the rear end of the card is detected, the card is passed through the wall edge of the card accommodating portion. A pickup roller that introduces the cards one by one into the conveyance path in a manner that the cards are pushed, and a pressing means that urges the cards stacked in the card storage section toward the pickup roller,
The pressing means has a protrusion that directly acts on the stacked cards to exert a biasing force, and the line of action of the biasing force of the protrusion is from the point of contact between the pick-a-ra roller and the card to be sent out.
In the invention according to claim 3, wherein the protruding portion is disposed so as to be located on the downstream side in the card feeding direction, the card is placed one by one so as to wrap around the wall end of the card accommodating portion. A pickup roller that introduces the stacked cards into the conveyance path one by one, and a pressing means that is rotatably supported on a pivot and rotates and biases the cards stacked in the card accommodating portion toward the pickup roller. The card has a protrusion that applies a biasing force by directly acting on the card, and the line of action of the biasing force of the protrusion is located downstream in the card feeding direction from the point of contact between the pickup roller and the card being sent out. As such, the point of action of the protruding portion is configured to be movable in the front and rear directions according to the rotation angle of the pressing means.

[Effect]

In the first aspect of the present invention, the card introduced into the conveyance path from the card accommodating portion by the pickup roller eventually reaches the feed roller at its leading end. Since the feed roller is interlocked with the pickup roller, the card is then sent further along the conveyance path by the feed roller. At this time, the present invention is equipped with a clutch means that disengages the pickup roller and the feed roller when the sensor means detects the leading edge of the card, so that the leading edge of the card rolls into contact with the feed roller and the sensor means When this is detected, the pickup roller is stopped by the action of the clutch means, and the card is just transferred from the pickup roller to the feed roller.

In addition, when the sensor means detects the rear end of the card, both rollers return to the interlocking state by the action of the clutch means, so if card feeding is interrupted before and after the feed roller due to a jam, etc., the sensor means does not detect the rear end of the card and does not send the next card.

In the invention of claims 2 and 3, since the point of contact between the pickup roller and the card to be sent out is always located upstream of the line of action of the biasing force of the protrusion, the card is in a state of being slightly bent forward, and the card is It passes through the wall end of the storage section and is delivered to the conveyance path.

〔Example〕

A card image reader using a card feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3.

This card image reader continuously reads the card C1, for example, a business card, reads the contents of the card C (business card) as image data, and electronically transmits the read data to a host computer (not shown). The card image reader is provided with a translucent transparent lid 2 on the top surface of the device body 1 formed in a box shape, and the interior with the transparent lid 2 opened is a card storage area in which a large number of business cards are stored in a stacked state. A card case 3 is removably housed therein.

On the outside front of the device body 1, there is a power switch 4 on the side.
and an EJECT button 5, a central tank, a POWER display 6, an error display 7, a BUSY display 8, and a paper out detection display 9 (see FIG. 2).

On the other hand, inside the device main body 1, there is provided a transport path 11 for the card C that starts from the installation part of the card case 3 and extends to the exit 10 at the rear end of the device main body 1. Various rollers for conveyance are provided.

These rollers are arranged in the order before the conveyance path 110, that is, from the upstream side, a pickup roller 12, a separator roller 13, a first feed roller 14, a second feed roller 15, and a third feed roller 16, and receive and pass the cards C in order. The device body 1 is transported from the exit 10 in this way.
It is designed to be dropped into a card tray 17 protruding from the rear of the card.

A reading section 18 is interposed between the first feed roller 14 and the second feed roller 15, and the reading section 18 reads the written contents of the card C as image data. Further, a first optical sensor 19 and a second optical sensor 20, which are sensor means, are provided before and after the reading section]8 along the conveyance path 11, and these optical sensors 19 and 20 are connected to the conveyance path 1.
It consists of light emitting elements 19a, 20a on the upper side and light receiving elements 19b, 20b on the lower side, and when the card C approaches this part of the conveyance path 1], the light emitting element 19a.

The leading edge of the card C can be detected by utilizing the fact that the light from the card 20a is blocked, and a signal can be sent to a control system for detecting a jam or the like.

The pickup roller 12, the first feed roller 14, the second feed roller]5 and the third feed roller 16 are
All of them are designed to rotate in the transport direction of card C.
An endless timing belt 23 is passed through two intermediate pulleys 22.22 to the driven pulleys 2], 21, 21.21 of these rollers, so that these pulleys are interlocked.

The drive source is a drive motor 24 provided between the second feed roller 15 and the third feed roller 6, and a reduction gear train 25 meshing the power of this drive motor 24 with the drive motor 24.
The input signal is input from the input gear 26 of the second feed roller] 5 via the input gear 26 of the second feed roller.

The card case 3 can be taken out from the device main body 1, and stores cards C to be read in a stack (about 100 business cards in this embodiment). As shown in FIG. 4, in the bottom plate 3a of this card case 3, an entry port 27 for the card C is formed by opening the rear half, and in the center of the front plate 3b there is a notch extending beyond the bottom plate 3a. 28 and a small notch 29 connected thereto are formed, and furthermore, a gate 30 for feeding the cards C one by one is attached to the rear plate 3c.

A notch 28 at the center of the front plate 3b and a small notch 29 extending to the tip of the bottom plate 3a allow the stacked cards C to be seen from the front and the remaining amount to be confirmed.
This is a container for storing and taking out the card C. In this case, the remaining amount of the card C can also be confirmed through a transparent window portion 2a formed at the front end of the transparent lid 2 of the device main body 1 (see FIG. 2). In addition, the bottom plate 3a is formed in a wedge-shaped cross section, and the stacked cards 3a are in a state of diagonal backward curling (front curling with respect to the traveling direction of the conveyance path 11), so that the leading edge of the card C is in the conveyance path. 1] and gate 30
It is easy to get into the gap between 1 2 and 1 2 .

As shown in FIG. 5, the carrying path 1 and the pickup roller 12 face the carry-in port 27, and the card C is sent through the carry-in port 27. On the other hand, the gate 30 is made of a thin metal plate, and the gap between its tip and the conveyance path 11 is adjusted by an adjustment screw 31 and a pressure plate 32 provided on the rear plate 3c. That is, the rear plate 3c is biased toward the transport path 11 by a pair of leaf springs 91, 91 provided on the upper surface of the card case 3 (see FIG. 4), and the gate 30 is located at the lower end of the rear plate 3c. It protrudes somewhat downward and is almost in contact with the conveyance path 11. Therefore, the cards C sent out by the pickup roller 12 push up the gate 3o against the leaf springs 91, 91, pass through the gate 3o, and are fed one by one.

In addition, the transparent lid 2 has a corner presser 3 at its tip, which is a pressing means.
3 is attached, and by closing the transparent lid 2, the card C inside the card case 3 is picked up by the roller 12.
It can be pressed to the side.

Here, this state will be explained in detail based on FIGS. 6 and 7. 6(a) and (b) are a plan view and a side view of the card holder 33, respectively, and FIG. 7 is an explanation showing the relationship among the card holder 33, the card case 3, the card C, and the pickup roller 12. FIG.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the card holder 33 is rotatably supported at both ends by a pivot 71 fixed to the transparent lid 2, and has a coiled spring 73 built into its main body 72.
As a result, the card C is urged to rotate about the pivot 71 from above. The coiled spring 73 is bent into a U-shape at the middle portion, wound around the pivot shaft 71 at both ends, and is incorporated symmetrically into the main body. As a result, rotational biasing is performed uniformly in the left and right direction of the card C, and the biasing is performed using a long spring formed by winding, so that the card holder 33
It is possible to apply a constant urging force to the car FC regardless of the rotation angle of the car FC.

3 4 On the other hand, a pressure roller 74 whose shaft portion is fitted into a groove-shaped shaft fixing portion 72a is detachably attached to the tip of the main body 72, and a pressure roller 74 is attached to the lower part of the main body 72 in front of the pressure roller 74. A protrusion 75 is provided in a protruding manner. Then, the pressing roller 74 and the pressing protrusion 75 directly contact the card C.
It constitutes a protrusion that applies the urging force of the winding spring 73 to the card C. In this case, the pressing roller 74 may be a mere pressing protrusion, but it is a freely rotating roller so that excessive frictional force does not act on the cart C when sending out the last card C.

As shown in FIG. 7, the relationship between the pressing roller 74 and the pressing protrusion 75 is such that when the number of cards C is large and the angle of the card holder 33 is shallow, the pressing protrusion 75 is placed on the uppermost card. When the number of cards C is small and the angle of the card holder 33 is deep, the pressing roller 74 comes into contact with the uppermost card C and applies a biasing force at this part. It is designed to work.

More specifically, in order to send out the card C, the pickup roller 2 applies frictional force to the contact point t1 between the pickup roller 12 and the lowest card C.
The contact point t exerted on the card holder 33 is applied to the line of action a, a2. The point of application of the urging force can be moved from the pressing protrusion 75 side to the pressing roller 74 side so that it is always on the upstream side of a3. As a result, the biasing force applies a frictional force at the contact point t and a coupled force centered at the contact point t to the card C of the lowest layer that is sent out. Therefore, the tip of the car FC is bent forward, and the card case 3
It is sent out to the other side by sneaking under the gate 30.

In this embodiment, the protruding portion is constituted by a pressing roller 74 and a pressing protrusion 75, but as shown in FIG. It may be made movable.

In this way, the stacked cards C are successively fed out one by one from the bottom by the pick-up roller 2 and the gate 30. However, if the cards C (business cards) are thin and have a rough surface, there is a possibility that two cards C (business cards) may be introduced into the conveyance path 11 at the same time, but in such a case, the following separator roller 13 will ensure that It is separated into pieces one by one and sent out.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the upstream side of the conveyance path 11 is
A slit-shaped card insertion slot 34 that extends parallel to the bottom plate 3a of the card case 3 to the front surface of the device body, and is open on the front surface of the device body 1.
It is connected to This card insertion slot 34 is used to insert another card C in addition to the card C in the card case 3. When a card C is inserted through this card insertion slot 34, the tip of the card C is directly inserted into the pickup roller 1. This card C is read by an interrupt.

That is, the inserted card C is inserted between the lowest card C stacked in the card case 3 and the pickup roller 12, and is introduced into the conveyance path 11 before the lowest card C. .

The pickup roller 12 faces the carry-in port 27 at the bottom of the card case 3, and continuously introduces the stacked cards C into the conveyance path 11 one by one starting from the bottom. The pickup roller 12 and the first feed roller 14 are interlocked by the timing belt 23. Also,
An electromagnetic clutch 37 (one-way clutch) consisting of a ratchet mechanism 35 and an electromagnetic solenoid 36 is connected to the pickup roller 12, and the electromagnetic clutch 37 is turned on and off by a first optical sensor ]9.

The electromagnetic clutch 37 is connected to the pulley 21 of the rotating shaft 38 of the pickup roller 12, as shown in FIGS. 9(a) and 9(b).
The rotating shaft 38 is rotatably supported by the three lower chassis via bearings 4040. The ratchet mechanism 35 includes the ratchet windmill 4
A sheath tube 41 in which 1a is engraved and the rotating shaft 38 is inserted;
It consists of a ratchet pawl 42, one end of which faces the ratchet windmill 41a, and the other end of which faces the electromagnetic solenoid 36.The first optical sensor 19 determines whether the ratchet pawl 42 or the ratchet type wheel 4] is removed from the ratchet type wheel 4. ON-OFF state and a state where the ratchet pawl 42 is engaged with the ratchet type wheel 41a.

On the other hand, power is transmitted from the rotating shaft 38 to the sheath tube 41 via a friction tube 43 fixed to the rotating shaft 38. Therefore, when the ratchet pawl 42 is detached from the ratchet type wheel 41a, the power of the rotating shaft 38 is transferred to the friction tube 43,
It is transmitted in this order to the sheath pipe 41 and the pickup roller 12,
Rotate the pickup roller 12. Conversely, when the ratchet pawl 42 is engaged with the ratchet windmill 4], a, the power of the rotating shaft 38 is cut off by the slip between the friction tube 43 and the sheath tube 41, and the pickup roller 1
Stop 2.

That is, in a state where the first optical sensor 19 detects the rear end of the preceding card C and the card C can be sent out, the electromagnetic clutch 37 is turned on and the pickup roller 12 is rotationally driven to send out the card C toward the separator roller 13 side. When the leading edge of the card C passes over the first feed roller 14 and reaches the first optical sensor 19, the electromagnetic clutch 37 is turned off, stopping the pickup roller 12 and stopping card feeding. Therefore, the pickup roller 12 is driven to receive and pass the card C to the first feed roller 14, and when a jam or the like occurs on the 111 feed roller 14 side and card feeding is interrupted, the electromagnetic clutch 37
is not turned on and the pickup roller 12 is stopped and card feeding is stopped. In this way, if a problem occurs in card feeding, it can be quickly dealt with, and damage to the card C and damage to the equipment can be prevented.

The separator roller 13 is composed of an upper braking roller 44 and a lower rotating roller 45 with the conveyance path 11 in between, and the rotating roller 45 is biased toward the braking roller 44 by a pressure spring 46 fixed to the lower chassis 39. has been done (
(See Figure 5).

As shown in FIG. 10, the brake roller 44 is rotatably supported on a fixed shaft 47 of the brake roller 44 via a cylindrical roller holder 48, and one adjacent to the roller holder 48. A spring holder 49 that abuts the stopper 49a is supported, and a coil spring 50 is wound between the roller holder 48 and the spring holder 49. A roller holder 48 is provided at each end of the coil spring 50.
and the spring holder 49 are locked, and the brake roller 44
is biased by the coil spring 50 in a direction opposite to the direction in which the card C is fed. In addition, the brake roller 44 is connected to a stopper 49.
The rotation of the card C is restricted to an angle of 75 degrees in the feeding rotation direction by a.

This prevents the braking roller 44 from rotating somewhat due to the friction generated by the feeding of the cart C and causing partial wear, and it is possible to exert a braking force corresponding to the frictional force at that time. .

That is, for the cards C sent in a stacked state from the pickup roller 12, the upper card C is stopped by the friction of the braking roller 44, and the lower card C is moved toward the first feed roller 14 side by rotation of the rotating roller 45. Thus, it is possible to reliably send one card C.

The first feed roller 14 to the third feed roller 16 are connected to the upper bushing roller 1 with the conveyance path 11 in between.
4a, 15a, 16a and lower drive rollers 14b, 15
b, 16b. Bush rollers 14a, 15a
, 16a are biased toward the drive rollers 14b, 15b, and 16b, and the drive rollers 1.4b, 15b, and 16b are driven by the timing belt 23, and transport the card C at a constant speed to the rear end of the device body 1. Send it out to port 10.

In addition, in FIG. 1, FIG. 3, and FIG. 5, it is the paper dust cleaner 101102 that is in contact with the upstream side of the pickup roller 12 and the drive roller 14b. This paper dust cleaner 101. ．． 102 is attached to the conveyance path 11 in contact with both rollers 12 and 14b, and both rollers 12 and 14b are in contact with each other.
, 14b is removed to prevent the coefficient of friction between both rollers 12, 14b from decreasing.

In addition, the braking roller 44 of the separator roller 13 disposed at the upper part of the conveyance path 11 and the push rollers 14a, 1.5a of each feed roller 14, 15.16
, 16a are supported by a two-part chassis 51 provided so as to cover the transport path 11, and the upper chassis 51 is configured to stand up in one direction with its rotation shaft 52 as a fulcrum. (see figure). So, upper chassis 51
When the card case 3 is raised and the card case 3 is removed, the entire conveyance path 11 is exposed, making recovery from jamming and maintenance work extremely easy.

The reading unit 18 includes an image reader 53 that reads the written contents of the card C as image data, and a shading device 54 that adjusts the white balance of the image reader 53.
When the power is turned on, an electromagnetic solenoid 55 serving as a moving means of the shading device 54 automatically brings the whiteboard 57 to the focal position of the image reader 53 via the board support arm 56. After adjustment, it returns to the retracted position.

Next, the mechanical drive section 58 and the electronic control section 59 that drives it will be explained based on FIG. 11.

The mechanical drive unit 58 includes a power source 60, an image reader 53 that reads the written contents of the card C as image data, and first and second optical sensors 1 that detect the leading and trailing ends of the card C.
9.20, an electromagnetic solenoid 55 that moves the whiteboard 57 of the shading device 54, an electromagnetic solenoid 36 that turns on and off the electromagnetic clutch 37 of the pickup roller 12, and a drive motor 24 that drives the timing belt 23. ing. Image Rider 53
is an LED array 61 (see Fig. 1) which is a light emitting part, a CCD sensor 62 (see Fig. 1) which is a light receiving part, and this C
It consists of an output driver 63 that drives the CD sensor 62 and an amplification amplifier 64.

The LED array 61 is a yellow light source in consideration of both the background color of the card C (business card) and the color of the read characters.

The electronic control unit 59 includes a control circuit 65 that controls each of these drive devices, and the rPOWERj, "error", rB U
An LED display section 66 that displays SYJ and "paper out detection", an alarm buzzer 67 that warns of jams, etc., a depth switch 68 that connects and disconnects from the host computer, and an interface 69 that connects to the host computer. Built-in.

This allows the quad image reader to be driven by instructions from the host computer.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As described above, according to the invention of claim 1, the card is fed by passing the receiver from the pickup roller to the feed roller, so even if there is a slight deviation in the interlocking state of both rollers, the card will not be fed. No problems occur, and even if a jam occurs and a card gets caught midway through the conveyance path, the subsequent card will not be sent, which prevents damage to the card or damage to internal devices. can do.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the point of contact between the pickup roller and the card to be sent out is located upstream of the line of action of the biasing force of the protruding portion, and the card is moved along the conveyance path to the wall of the card accommodating portion. Since it passes through the edge, the tip of the card does not lift up, and is regulated by the edge of the wall, allowing cards to be smoothly fed one by one.

Furthermore, according to the third aspect of the invention, whether the biasing is by the pressing means or the rotational biasing, the point of action of the protrusion of the pressing means can be moved according to the rotational angle. This has the effect that the point of contact between the pickup roller and the card to be sent out can always be located upstream of the line of action of the biasing force of the protrusion.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a cutaway side view of a card image reader equipped with a card feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an external perspective view thereof, and Fig. 3 is an exploded perspective view of the main structural parts of the card image reader. , FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the card case, FIG. 5 is a cut side view of the area around the separator roller, FIG. 6(a) is a plan view of the card holder, FIG. 6(b) is a side view of the card holder, Figure 7 is an explanatory view showing the operating state of the card holder, Figures 5, 6 and 8 are partially cutaway side views of other embodiments of the card holder, and Figure 9
Figures (a) and (b) are detailed views of the electromagnetic clutch, No. 10.
The figure is an exploded perspective view of the brake roller and its surroundings, and FIG. 11 is a related diagram of the mechanical drive section and the electronic control section. 1...Device body, 3...Cart case, 3a...
Bottom plate, 3C... Rear plate,] 1... Conveyance path, 12...
Pick-up roller, ] 3...Separator roller, 1
4... First feed roller, ] 9... First optical sensor, 30... Gate, 33... Card holder, 35...
・Ratchet mechanism, 36...Electromagnetic solenoid, 37・
...Electromagnetic clutch, 71...Pivot, 73...Wrong spring, 74...Press roller, 75...Press protrusion, t...
・Contact point, a, a. ■2 a3... line of action, 1C... card.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A pickup roller that introduces the card from inside the card storage section into the conveyance path, a feed roller that works in conjunction with the pick-up roller and further feeds the card sent from the pickup roller to the end of the conveyance path, and a card that is conveyed at the end of the feed roller. Sensor means for detecting the leading edge and trailing edge of a card being conveyed on a road, and when the sensor means detects the leading edge of the card, the interlocking between the pickup roller and the feed roller is released and the trailing edge of the card is detected. A card feeding device characterized by comprising a clutch means that sometimes restores the interlocking movement between the pickup roller and the feed roller. 2. A pickup roller that introduces the cards one by one into a conveyance path by passing through the wall edge of the card accommodating section, and a pressing means that urges the cards stacked in the card accommodating section toward the pickup roller. , the pressing means has a protrusion that directly acts on the stacked cards to exert a biasing force, and the line of action of the biasing force of the protrusion is at the point of contact between the pickup roller and the card to be sent out. A card feeding device characterized in that the protruding portion is disposed so as to be located on the downstream side in the card feeding direction. 3. A pickup roller that introduces the cards one by one into the conveyance path by passing through the wall edge of the card storage section, and a pickup roller that is rotatably supported on a pivot and carries the stacked cards in the card storage section to the side of the pickup roller. and a pressing means for biasing the stacked cards, the pressing means having a protrusion that directly acts on the stacked cards to exert a biasing force, and the line of action of the biasing force of the protruding part is The point of action of the protruding portion is configured to be movable in the front-back direction according to the rotation angle of the pressing means so as to be located downstream in the card feeding direction from the contact point between the pickup roller and the card to be sent out. A card feeding device characterized by: