JPH08290124A - Paper sheet taking-out device, paper sheet processor having paper sheet taking-out device and paper sheet taking-out method - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To make it possible to take out paper sheets at a high speed by continuing the delivery of the paper sheets when the end of passage of the previous paper sheets is detected by a third detecting means and starting the taking out of the next paper sheets when the passage of the rear end of the paper sheets is detected by a first detecting means. CONSTITUTION: The passage of postal matter P1 is detected when the taking out of the postal matter P1 is started and the front end of the postal matter P1 arrives at a photoelectric sensor 44. A photoelectric sensor 45 is turned on and the passage of the postal matter P1 is judged when the front end of the postal matter P1 arrives at this sensor. The passage of the previously taken out postal matter is judged when the front end is detected. The postal matter P1 is transferred from an attraction chamber 32 to an attraction chamber 34 and the taking-out operation of the postal matter P1 is temporally stopped when the passage of the previous postal matter is judged by a photoelectric sensor 46. The postal matter P1 is transferred from a suction chamber 34 to a suction chamber 33 and the taking-out operation of the postal matter P1 is restarted when the rear end of the previously taken out postal matter passes the photoelectric sensor 46 and the off thereof is confirmed.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper sheet take-out apparatus used in an automatic paper sheet sorting apparatus for automatically sorting paper sheets such as mail.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, an automatic mail sorting device for automatically sorting mail has been put into practical use. This automatic mail sorting device is provided with a buffer unit for temporarily accumulating a large number of input mail items, and in this buffer unit, one mail item is taken out from the buffer unit and sent to the automatic reading unit. A device (paper sheet take-out device) is provided.

In this postal matter take-out device, a conveyor belt provided so as to face the buffer portion is run, and the postal matter in contact with the conveyor belt is adsorbed to the conveyor belt, so that the postal matter is passed one by one. Take out from the buffer section. That is, the conveyor belt is provided with a plurality of holes at equal intervals along the traveling direction, and at a predetermined position on the opposite side of the conveyor belt from the mail, negative pressure is applied to the mail through the holes. A suction chamber is provided to provide the. Therefore, when the holes in the conveyor belt move to positions that match the suction chamber, the postal items are adsorbed by the conveyor belt, and the postal items are taken out so that the trailing edge of each postal item matches the interval between the holes in the conveyor belt. To be done. still,
The distance between the holes of the conveyor belt is set larger than the length of the mail piece.

In this case, the intervals between the picked-up mail items are uneven due to the difference in the length of each mail item. When the distance between the mail pieces is constant, it is necessary to control the motor so as to change the conveyance speed of the conveyance belt according to the length of each mail piece.

Therefore, in the conventional postal matter take-out device, a detector for detecting passage of the taken-out postal matter is arranged at a predetermined position on the conveying path. This detector is composed of a light source and a light-receiving element provided at a position sandwiching the conveyance path of the mail, and detects passage of the mail when the light beam from the light source is blocked by the mail and is not received by the light-receiving element. If you want to keep the distance between the mail items like this, measure the time until the detector detects the leading edge of the next mail item after the trailing edge of the first removed mail item passes the detector. ,
At this time, by calculating the interval between the postal items taken out before and the postal items taken out later, and by controlling the traveling speed of the conveyor belt for taking out the postal items based on this calculation result,
The intervals between the mail items taken out are kept constant.

[0006]

However, in the above-mentioned postal matter take-out device, after the first postal piece is conveyed,
When the first piece of mail is conveyed, it is necessary to wait until the next hole of the conveyor belt is moved to the take-out position, and the distance between the mail pieces becomes relatively large. In this way, if the interval between mail items becomes large, it will be difficult to improve the take-out speed of mail items.
There arises a problem that the mail pick-up device having a higher pick-up speed cannot be applied.

Further, in order to keep the interval of mails constant, it is necessary to control the rotation speed of the motor to run the conveyor belt at a variable speed, which causes a problem that the interval control of mails becomes complicated. The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object thereof is to provide a paper sheet takeout device that can take out paper sheets at a higher speed.

[0008]

In order to achieve the above object, a paper sheet take-out device according to the present invention includes a supply means for sequentially supplying a plurality of paper sheets to a predetermined take-out position, and a supply means for supplying the paper sheet to the take-out position. A take-out means for sequentially taking out the formed paper sheets through the conveying path, and a predetermined distance from each other along the conveying path,
First to third detection means that are provided side by side in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the transport path and that detect paper sheets passing through the transport path;
Stopping means for temporarily holding the paper sheets passing through the transport path in a stopped state, and when the second detecting means detects the leading end of the paper sheets, the third detecting means When the taken-out passing paper sheet is detected, the stop means is operated to stop the paper sheet whose front end is detected by the second detection means, and the third detection means
When the passage end of the paper sheet taken out before is detected, the stop means is made inactive to continue the feeding of the paper sheet, and the first detection means detects the passage of the trailing edge of the paper sheet. And a control means for starting the taking-out of the next paper sheet by the taking-out means.

Further, the paper sheet take-out device according to the present invention is
A supply means for sequentially supplying a plurality of paper sheets having different sizes to a predetermined take-out position, and a take-out device arranged in contact with the surface of the paper sheet supplied at the take-out position and extending from the rear end to the front end of the paper sheet. Direction, and a take-out belt having a plurality of suction holes over its entire length, running means for running the take-out belt at a constant speed in the take-out direction, and paper sheets through the suction holes. A first suction means for sucking and sucking the paper sheet to the take-out belt, and a paper sheet is sucked through the suction hole provided on the downstream side in the take-out direction from the first suction means. A second adsorbing means for adsorbing the paper sheets to the take-out belt, which sequentially takes out the paper sheets supplied to the take-out position through the conveying path, and a predetermined distance from each other along the conveying path. Separated from each other and provided in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the transport path. First to detect the paper sheet passing through the conveying path
To a third detecting means, and a stop means which is provided so as to face the second suction means and which sucks the paper sheets passing through the transport path and separates them from the transport path and temporarily holds them in a stopped state. , When the leading edge of the paper sheet is detected by the second detecting means,
If the third detection means detects the previously taken out paper sheet in transit, the second suction means is deactivated and the stop means is operated to activate the second detection means. In addition to stopping the paper sheet whose front end is detected by the third detection means, the stop means is deactivated when the passage end of the previously taken-out paper sheet is detected by the third detection means. And a control means for starting the taking-out of the next paper sheet by the take-out means when the first detecting means detects the passage of the trailing edge of the paper sheet.

Further, the mail processing apparatus provided with the paper sheet take-out device according to the present invention includes a storage portion for storing a plurality of paper sheets having different sizes, and one paper sheet from the storage portion. A take-out device for taking out, a carrying mechanism for carrying the taken-out paper sheets, an information reading unit for reading information from the paper sheets in the middle of carrying, and a sorting device for sorting the paper sheets according to the read information. , And the take-out device, a supply means for sequentially supplying a plurality of paper sheets to a predetermined take-out position, a take-out means for sequentially taking out the paper sheets supplied to the take-out position through a conveying path,
First to third detection means that are provided along the transport path and are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the transport path in order from the upstream side to the downstream side, and detect the paper sheets passing through the transport path; When the leading end of the paper sheet is detected by the stop means for temporarily holding the paper sheet that is passing through the path and the second detection means, the third detection means takes it out in front. When the passing paper sheet is detected, the stopping means is operated to stop the paper sheet whose tip is detected by the second detecting means, and the third detecting means takes out the paper sheet in front. When it is detected that the passed paper sheet has passed, the stop means is deactivated and the paper sheet is continuously sent out, and when the trailing edge passage of the paper sheet is detected by the first detection means. And a control means for starting the taking-out of the next paper sheet by the taking-out means. There.

Further, according to the paper sheet take-out method of the present invention, a plurality of paper sheets are sequentially supplied to a predetermined take-out position, and the paper sheets supplied to the take-out position are taken out one by one through a conveying path. Paper sheets passing through the transport path are detected by the first to third detection means which are arranged along the transport path at predetermined intervals and are arranged in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the transport path. When the tip of the paper sheet is detected by the detection means,
The third detection means temporarily holds the paper sheet of which the leading edge is detected by the second detection means in a stopped state when the previously taken out paper sheet is detected, Second
When the leading edge of the paper sheet is detected by the second detecting means, the leading edge is detected by the second detecting means when the passage end of the previously taken-out sheet is detected by the third detecting means. The removal of the next paper sheet is continued, and when the first detecting means detects the trailing edge of the paper sheet, the next paper sheet is taken out.

[0012]

According to the paper sheet take-out device of the present invention, the control means causes the second detecting means to detect the leading edge of the paper sheet taken out from the predetermined take-out position by the take-out means. The presence or absence of passage of the paper sheet taken out before is confirmed by the detecting means of 3. Then, the control means actuates the stop means to stop the paper sheet when the passage of the previously taken out paper sheet is detected by the third detection means, and stops the stop means when the passage is not detected. Continue to take out the paper sheets as the non-operating state. Further, the control means causes the take-out means to start taking out the next paper sheet when the first detecting means detects the trailing edge of the paper sheet.

As described above, by providing the stopping means for temporarily stopping the taking out of the paper sheets, the interval between the paper sheets can be controlled to be constant. Further, since this interval can be made smaller than that of the conventional paper sheet take-out device, it is possible to take out paper sheets at a higher speed.

[0014]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS An embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows an automatic mail sorting device for automatically sorting and accumulating a large number of mail items. The automatic mail sorting device includes a storage unit 1 that stores a plurality of pieces of postal matter P such as postcards and envelopes in a batch and standing state, and a storage unit 1.
The postal matter take-out device 2 (hereinafter, referred to as take-out device 2) for taking out the paper sheets P accommodated in the paper sheet P one by one. At the downstream side of the take-out device 2, a conveying mechanism 30 for conveying the taken out postal matter P along the conveying path 3 is provided.
In the middle of the process, the information reading unit 4 (hereinafter, reading unit 4) that reads the postal code and address information (address information) given to the postal matter P
(Referred to as) is provided. Further, in the transport path 3 extending between the take-out device 2 and the reading unit 4, the postal matter removing unit 5 that eliminates the postal matter P when a foreign matter is present in the postal matter P.
x and a conveyance posture defect accumulating section 5y in which the postal matter P having a bad conveyance posture is excluded. Further, an operation panel 7 is provided above the accommodation section 1 to input various commands from the operator.

The reading unit 4 photoelectrically converts the postal code and address information on the postal matter P, and a character pattern according to the output of the photoelectric conversion unit 4a. It is a well-known device including a discriminating section 4b having an address reading device for discriminating number and address information. Then, the determination unit 4b outputs a classification destination code corresponding to the determined postal code.

Further, in the conveying path 3 on the downstream side of the reading section 4,
A sorting unit 11 is provided as a sorting device having a large number of sorting boxes 6 prepared according to the address information of the mail.
The sorting unit 11 has sorting transport paths 5a to 5g extending horizontally in a plurality of stages (A to G), and below each sorting transport path, a plurality of sorting boxes arranged along the lower surface side thereof. 6 are provided. Each of the divided conveyance paths 5a to 5g is connected to the conveyance path 3 via the stepped path unit 10. In addition, this stage pass section 1
0 is provided with a gate that sorts the conveyed postal matter into each of the sorting and conveying paths 5a to 5g, and each sorting box 6 is provided with a gate that communicates with the corresponding sorting and conveying path. Therefore, the postal matter P conveyed through the conveying path 3 is branched into any one of a plurality of stages (A stage to G stage) according to the sorting destination code, and is placed in a predetermined sorting box 6. It is designed to be collected separately.

A transport detector group (not shown) for detecting the transport of the postal matter P on the transport path is provided on the transport paths 3 and 5a to 5g. When a large number of postal items are supplied to the automatic postal item sorting device configured as described above and the postal item sorting operation is started, the postal items taken out from the accommodation unit 1 by the take-out device 2 are conveyed by the transport mechanism 30. Is conveyed to the reading unit 4 via the conveyance path 3. The mail is the reading part 4
When the mail is conveyed to, the address information is read from the mail, the sorting destination code corresponding to the address information is output, and the mail is conveyed to the sorting unit 11. The postal matter conveyed to the sorting unit 11 is sorted into predetermined stages by the stage pass unit 10 according to the sorting destination code, and is sorted and collected in a predetermined sorting box 6.

Next, the above-mentioned take-out device 2 will be described in detail with reference to FIG. The take-out device 2 has a supply section 20 as a supply means for supplying the postal matters P having various lengths and stored in the storage section 1 in an upright position with their rear ends aligned to a predetermined take-out position. . The supply unit 20 has a substantially horizontal reference surface 21 on which a large number of postal items P are placed, and the rear end of the postal item P abuts against the reference surface 21 so that the postal item P is in an upright position and its rear ends are aligned. Are aligned in a state.

The supply unit 20 also has a moving mechanism 22 for moving the mail items P aligned on the reference surface 21 in an upright position to a predetermined take-out position along the reference surface 21. The moving mechanism 22 is provided so as to be movable along a direction parallel to the reference surface 21, and also has a pressing plate 22b facing the mail P, and a spring 22a provided between the pressing plate 22b and the fixed portion 22c. And are equipped with. Therefore, the postal matter P arranged on the reference surface 21 is pressed by the pressing plate 22b, and the frontmost leaf (hereinafter referred to as the frontmost postal matter P1).
(Referred to as “()”) are sequentially supplied to the take-out position which comes into contact with the take-out belt 23 described later.

At this take-out position, an take-out belt 23 which is endlessly conveyed in a direction substantially orthogonal to the reference plane 21 (upward in the drawing) is arranged. The take-out belt 23 is provided with a plurality of suction holes (not shown) for the entire length of the take-out belt 23. The take-out belt 23 includes drive rollers 24a and 2
The driven roller 24a is wound around two driven rollers 24b and 24c, and is connected to a constant speed rotation type motor 25. Motor controller 26 for motor 25
Is connected, and the motor controller 26 is C described later.
The motor 25 is controlled according to a control signal from the PU 50. Accordingly, the take-out belt 23 is in contact with the postal matter P1 arranged at the take-out position, and the reference plane 21
It is possible to travel at a predetermined speed in a direction away from (upward in the figure). The drive roller 24a and the motor 25
This constitutes the traveling means of the present invention.

The inside of the take-out belt 23, that is, the mail P
On the side opposite to 1, there are three suction chambers 3 arranged at predetermined intervals along the running direction of the take-out belt 22 (take-out direction).
1, 32, 33 are provided. The suction chamber 31 closest to the reference surface 21 is a position capable of adsorbing the postal matter P arranged at the take-out position, and the shortest postal matter among the postal matters P arranged at the take-out position (hereinafter referred to as the shortest postal matter). Of the longest postal matter (hereinafter referred to as the longest postal matter) of the postal matter P placed at the take-out position. It is located above the tip position.

A suction chamber 34 for stopping is provided outside the take-out belt 23 and at a position substantially facing the suction chamber 33. The suction chamber 34 is provided at a predetermined distance from the suction chamber 33 so that the mail P can be delivered to and from the suction chamber 33. Each suction chamber 31, 3
2, 33, 34 have openings 31 a, 32 a, 33 a, 34 a opened toward the take-out belt 23. Each suction chamber 3
1, 32, 33, 34 are open / close valves 31b, 3 respectively.
It is connected to the suction pump 35 via 2b, 33b and 34b.

The suction chambers 31, 32, the openings 31a, 32
a, opening / closing valves 31b and 32b, and suction pump 35
The first suction means of the present invention is constituted by the suction chamber 3
3, the opening 33a, the opening / closing valve 33b, and the suction pump 35 constitute the second adsorption means of the present invention, and the suction chamber 34, the opening 34a, the opening / closing valve 34b, and the suction pump 35 constitute the stopping means of the present invention. ing. In addition, the take-out belt 23, the drive roller 24a, the motor 2
5, and the above-mentioned first and second suction means constitute the take-out means of the present invention.

Therefore, a negative pressure is generated by the suction pump 35, and the opening / closing valves 31b, 32b, 33b, 34b are selectively opened / closed, whereby the suction chambers 31, 32, 33, 3 are provided.
Negative pressure is selectively generated at 4. For example,
When the opening / closing valves 31b, 32b, 33b are selectively opened and a negative pressure is generated in the corresponding suction chambers 31, 32, 33, the frontmost postal matter P1 is adsorbed by the take-out belt 23 and the take-out belt 23 moves. And is taken out upward in the figure. Further, when the open / close valves 31b, 32b, 33b are closed and the open / close valve 34b is opened to generate a negative pressure only in the suction chamber 34, the postal matter P1 being taken out is adsorbed in the adsorption chamber 34 and the postal matter P1 is temporarily stopped. It has become. Since a plurality of holes are formed in the take-out belt 23 over the entire length of the take-out belt 23, a negative pressure is generated in each of the suction chambers 31, 32, and 33, so that the take-out belt 23 is adsorbed to the take-out belt 23 at an arbitrary timing. be able to.

A switch 36 is provided outside the take-out belt 23 and below the driven roller 24c near the take-out position to detect the presence or absence of the postal matter P located at the take-out position. The switch 36 includes a pressure detection bar 36a which is pushed in by the frontmost postal matter P1 placed at the take-out position,
The pressure detection bar 3 is composed of a bearing portion 36b that comes into contact with the pressed pressure detection bar 36a and is electrically conductive.
When 6a comes into contact with the bearing portion 36b, it is detected that the postal matter P is present at the take-out position.

Further, below the switch 36, an auxiliary suction chamber 38 connected to a suction pump 37 is arranged.
The auxiliary suction chamber 38 is provided with a suction opening 38a opened toward the rear end of the postal matter P1 located at the take-out position. The auxiliary suction chamber 38 acts so that the take-out belt 23 does not take out two or more mail items P at a time. That is, immediately after the first mail piece is taken out, the vicinity of the rear end of the second mail piece is sucked, and the second mail piece becomes 1
Prevent it from being moved with the second piece of mail.

The postal matter P taken out by the take-out belt 23 is conveyed by the conveying mechanism 40 through the conveying path 3 toward the subsequent processing device. In other words, at the position where the postal matter P taken out by the take-out device 2 is received, the conveyance path 3
Is provided with a pair of conveyor belts 41 and 43. The conveyor belt 41 is wound around rollers 42a and 42b, and the conveyor belt 43 is wound around a roller 42c. The transport belts 41 and 43 are each transported at a constant speed by a transport mechanism (not shown). Therefore, when the front end of the taken out postal matter P is moved to the take-in position Q where the conveyor belts 41 and 43 overlap, the postal matter P is pinched between the conveyor belts 41 and 43, and thereafter, these conveyor belts 41 and 43 are conveyed. 41 and 43 are conveyed at a constant speed via the conveyance path 3 and are guided to the subsequent processing device.

The distance from the reference surface 21 to the take-in position Q is a distance that can reliably convey the shortest postal matter (hereinafter referred to as the shortest postal matter) of the postal matters P arranged at the take-out position. Is set to.

Further, the take-out device 2 is provided with a plurality of sensors, for example, first to third photoelectric sensors 44, 45, 46, which function as detection means for detecting passage of the postal matter P, at predetermined positions. There is. Each photoelectric sensor 44, 45,
Reference numeral 46 is composed of light sources arranged at positions sandwiching the conveyance path of the postal matter P and light receiving elements for receiving light rays from the light sources. Then, the light beam from the light source is the postal matter P.
When the light is not blocked by the light receiving element, the passage of the postal matter P is detected, the photoelectric sensor is turned on, and when the light beam from the light source is not blocked by the postal matter P and is received by the light receiving element, there is no postal matter P. When this is detected, the photoelectric sensor is turned off.

The photoelectric sensor 44 acting as the first detection means is slightly above the leading end of the longest mail among the mail P whose rear ends are aligned on the reference surface 21 and is located in the suction chamber 3
It is arranged on the transport path between the suction chamber 33 and the suction chamber 33. In addition, the photoelectric sensor 45 acting as the second detection means is
It is arranged on the transport path slightly above the suction chamber 33 and the suction chamber 34. Further, the photoelectric sensor 46, which functions as the third detecting means, is arranged between the photoelectric sensor 45 and the take-in position Q.

The distance between the photoelectric sensor 45 and the photoelectric sensor 46 corresponds to the gap between the mail pieces P taken out. Therefore, this distance is set to a desired value within the range equal to or longer than the distance from the tip of the shortest mail item among the mail items P arranged at the take-out position to the photoelectric sensor 44. The distance between the photoelectric sensor 44 and the photoelectric sensor 45 is set shorter than the shortest mail item.

Next, the take-out device 2 configured as described above.
The control system will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, the control system of the take-out device 2 includes a CPU 50 that functions as control means. The CPU 50 has an input interface 5
1 through switch 36 and photoelectric sensors 44, 4
5, 46 are connected.

Further, the CPU 50 has the motor controller 26, the negative pressure controller 53, and the opening / closing valve controller 5 via the output interface 52.
4 are connected. The motor 25 is connected to the motor controller 26, and the suction pumps 35 and 37 are connected to the negative pressure controller 53. Further, the open / close valve controller 54 includes open / close valves 31 b, 3
2b, 33b and 34b are connected.

Next, the operation of taking out the postal matter P in the above-mentioned taking-out apparatus 2 will be described with reference to the flowchart shown in FIG. For convenience of explanation, it is assumed that the postal matter taken out is P1, the postal matter taken out before the postal matter P1 is P0, and the postal matter taken out after the postal matter P1 is P2.

Before operating the take-out device 2, first, all the on-off valves 31b, 32b, 33b, 34b are closed (step 61). When the take-out device 2 is activated, the motor 25 is driven so that the take-out belt 23 travels at a constant speed, and at the same time, the suction pumps 35 and 37 are operated to generate a negative pressure (step 62).

When the take-out device 2 is put in the take-out standby state in this way, a plurality of pieces of mail having various lengths are supplied to the feeding section 2.
0 is supplied to the take-out position. The rear ends of these mail pieces P are aligned by the reference surface 21 and the reference surface 2 in the standing state.
The first postal matter P1 is placed on the sheet 1 and is moved by the moving mechanism 22 so as to be arranged at the take-out position where it comes into contact with the take-out belt 23.

When the frontmost postal matter P1 is moved to the take-out position in this way, the pressure detecting bar 36a is pushed in to electrically connect with the bearing portion 36b, and the switch 36 is turned on. That is, the presence or absence of the postal matter P is judged by the operation of the switch 36 (step 63).

When there is no postal matter P at the take-out position and the switch 36 is not operated and it is judged that there is no postal matter, it is confirmed that the postal matter P0 taken out before is not left on the conveyance path. The photoelectric sensor 45 and the photoelectric sensor 46 determine whether the postal matter P0 has passed (step 64).
When it is determined that the postal matter P0 has not passed, the motor 25 and the suction pumps 35 and 37 are stopped (step 65), and the take-out operation is completed.

When the switch 36 is actuated and it is judged that there is mail, the photoelectric sensor 44 judges that the mail P0 previously taken out has passed (step 66), and it is judged that the sensor is off. Then, the open / close valve 31b is opened (step 67).

When the opening / closing valve 31b is opened, the negative pressure generated by the suction pump 35 is placed at the extraction position through the opening / closing valve 31b, the suction chamber 31, the opening 31a, and the hole of the extraction belt 23. It acts on the postal matter P1. As a result, the frontmost postal matter P1 is adsorbed to the take-out belt 23, and the take-out of the frontmost postal matter P1 is started as the take-out belt 23 runs.

When the taking out of the postal matter P1 is started, the passage of the postal matter P1 is monitored by the photoelectric sensors 44, 45 and 46, and when the leading end of the postal matter P1 reaches the photoelectric sensor 44, the photoelectric sensor 44 is turned on. The passage of the postal matter P1 is detected. In this case, it is simultaneously confirmed that the photoelectric sensor 45 is off (step 68).

Photoelectric sensor 44 is on and sensor 4
When 5 is off, the tip of the postal matter P1 is the photoelectric sensor 4
4 and 45, and the rear end of the postal matter P0 taken out before is the photoelectric sensor 44.
And it is determined that the valve is not between 45, and the open / close valve 31
At the same time as b is closed, the open / close valve 32b is opened (step 69).

When the opening / closing valve 32b is opened, the negative pressure generated by the suction pump 35 acts on the frontmost postal matter P1 through the opening / closing valve 32b, the suction chamber 32, the opening 32a, and the hole of the take-out belt 23. . As a result, the postal matter P1 is transferred from the suction chamber 31 to the suction chamber 32, and the operation of taking out the postal matter P1 is continued.

The tip of the postal matter P1 is the photoelectric sensor 4
When the number reaches 5, the photoelectric sensor 45 is turned on and it is judged that the postal matter P1 has passed (step 70). Then, the photoelectric sensor 45 detects the front end of the postal matter P1, and at the same time, the photoelectric sensor 46 determines whether the postal matter P0 previously taken out has passed (step 71).

When the photoelectric sensor 46 determines that the postal matter P0 has not passed, the opening / closing valve 32b is closed and at the same time the opening / closing valve 33b is opened (step 7).
2) The postal matter P1 is delivered from the suction chamber 32 to the suction chamber 33, and the taking out of the postal matter P1 is continued. When the photoelectric sensor 46 determines that the postal matter P0 has passed, the opening / closing valve 32b is closed and at the same time the opening / closing valve 34b is opened (step 73) to receive the postal matter P1 from the adsorption chamber 32 into the adsorption chamber 34. After being delivered, the operation of taking out the postal matter P1 is temporarily stopped.

Then, when the rear end of the postal matter P0 taken out previously passes the photoelectric sensor 46 and it is confirmed that the photoelectric sensor 46 is off (step 74), the opening / closing valve 34b is closed and the opening / closing valve 34b is closed at the same time. 33b is opened (step 75), the postal matter P1 is transferred from the suction chamber 34 to the suction chamber 33, and the operation of taking out the postal matter P1 is restarted.

In this way, by temporarily stopping the postal matter P1 according to the detection result of the photoelectric sensor 46, the interval between the rear end of the postal matter P0 previously taken out and the front end of the postal matter P1 is (photoelectric sensor 45 (Equal to the distance between the photoelectric sensor 46 and the photoelectric sensor 46). Note that this distance can be changed by adjusting the distance between the photoelectric sensor 45 and the photoelectric sensor 46.

The postal matter P1 taken out as described above is conveyed to the subsequent processing device through the conveying path 3. At this point, the presence or absence of the postal matter P is again confirmed by the switch 36 (step 63), and the passage of the rear end of the postal matter P1 is detected by the photoelectric sensor 44 (step 66). Similarly, the taking-out operation is started. Therefore,
The intervals between the mail items P are always kept constant.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, a plurality of citation holes are formed over the entire length of the take-out belt 23,
A plurality of suction chambers 31 along the traveling direction of the take-out belt 23,
32 and 33 are provided, and a suction chamber 34 for temporarily stopping the paper sheets is provided, and the suction chambers 31, 32, 33 and 3 are provided.
The negative pressure by 4 is controlled at a predetermined timing.

Therefore, the postal matter P arranged at the take-out position can be taken out at an arbitrary timing, and the second postal matter can be taken out immediately after taking out the first postal matter. For this reason, the interval between the postal items can be made smaller, the postal items can be taken out at a higher speed, and the postal items can be sorted at high speed. Further, since the interval of the postal items can be controlled by temporarily stopping the postal items by the suction chamber 34 for stopping, it is not necessary to control the rotation speed of the motor as in the conventional take-out device, and the interval of the postal items can be adjusted. It will be easier.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, but can be variously modified within the scope of the present invention. For example, there are three suction chambers (two for taking out, one for stopping).
It is sufficient to provide more than one, and the number can be set arbitrarily.

[0052]

As described above, since the paper sheet take-out device of the present invention has the above-described structure and operation, the paper sheet can be taken out at a higher speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing a mail sorting device having a mail extracting device according to an embodiment of the present invention.

2 is a schematic diagram showing in more detail the mail piece take-out device incorporated in the mail piece sorting device of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a control system of the mail take-out device of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a diagram for explaining a mail take-out operation by the mail take-out device of FIG. 2;

[Explanation of symbols]

2 ... Paper sheet take-out device, 3 ... Conveyance path, 20 ... Supply section, 21
... reference surface, 22 ... moving mechanism, 23 ... take-out belt, 24a
... drive roller, 24b, 24c ... driven roller, 25
… Motor, 26… Motor controller, 31, 3
2, 33, 34 ... Suction chambers, 31a, 32a, 33a, 3
4a ... Opening, 31b, 32b, 33b, 34b ... Open / close valve, 35, 37 ... Suction pump, 36 ... Switch, 38
... auxiliary suction chamber, 40 ... transport mechanism, 41, 43 ... transport belt, 42a, 42b, 42c ... rollers, 44, 45,
46 ... Photoelectric sensor.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A supply unit that sequentially supplies a plurality of paper sheets to a predetermined take-out position, a take-out unit that sequentially takes out the paper sheets that have been supplied to the take-out position through a conveyance path, and mutually along the conveyance path. First to third detecting means which are provided in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveying path and are arranged at predetermined intervals to detect paper sheets passing through the conveying path, and the paper sheet passing through the conveying path. Stop means for temporarily holding the paper sheets in a stopped state, and the third detection means detects the leading edge of the paper sheets by the second detection means, and the paper sheets that have been taken out before are passed by the third detection means. When the paper is detected, the stop means is operated to stop the paper sheet whose front end is detected by the second detection means, and the paper sheet previously taken out is passed by the third detection means. When the end is detected, the above stopping means is deactivated and the paper sheet is Control means for continuing the feeding operation and, when the first detection means detects that the trailing edge of the paper sheet has passed, the take-out means starts the taking-out of the next paper sheet. Characteristic paper sheet take-out device. 2. A supply means for sequentially supplying a plurality of paper sheets having different sizes to a predetermined take-out position, and a rear end of the paper sheet arranged in contact with the surface of the paper sheet supplied to the take-out position. From the take-out belt extending in the take-out direction toward the tip, and having a plurality of suction holes over the entire length thereof,
Traveling means for traveling the take-out belt in the take-out direction at a constant speed; first suction means for sucking the paper sheets through the suction holes and adsorbing the paper sheets to the take-out belt; A second suction means which is provided on the downstream side of the suction means from the first suction means, sucks the paper sheets through the suction hole, and sucks the paper sheets on the pickup belt; A take-out unit that sequentially takes out the paper sheets supplied to the take-out position through the conveyance path, and a predetermined distance along the conveyance path from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveyance path. The first to third detecting means for detecting the paper sheets passing through and the second suction means are provided so as to face the paper sheets passing through the conveying path and are temporarily separated from the conveying path. Stop means for holding the paper sheet in a stopped state and the second detecting means When the edge is detected, the third detecting means deactivates the second adsorbing means and activates the stopping means when the previously taken out paper sheet is detected. The second detecting means stops the paper sheet whose front end is detected, and the third detecting means stops the stop means when the passage end of the previously taken out paper sheet is detected. As a working state, the feeding of the paper sheet is continued, and when the first detecting means detects the trailing edge of the paper sheet, the take-out means starts the taking-out of the next paper sheet; A paper sheet take-out device comprising: 3. The distance between the second and third detecting means is larger than the distance from the tip of the paper sheet supplied to the take-out position to the first detecting means. Alternatively, the paper sheet takeout device according to item 2. 4. An accommodating section for accommodating a plurality of paper sheets having different sizes, an ejecting device for ejecting the paper sheets one by one from the accommodating section, and a conveying mechanism for conveying the ejected paper sheets. An information reading unit that reads information from the paper sheets during transportation, a sorting device that sorts the paper sheets according to the read information,
The above-mentioned take-out device is provided with a supply means for sequentially supplying a plurality of paper sheets to a predetermined take-out position, a take-out means for sequentially taking out the paper sheets supplied to the above-mentioned take-out position through a conveying path, and the conveying path. First to third detecting means that are provided along the transport path from the upstream side to the downstream side in a predetermined distance from each other, and detect the paper sheets passing through the transport path; Stopping means for temporarily holding the paper sheets in a stopped state, and when the second detecting means detects the leading edge of the paper sheets, the third detecting means detects that the paper sheet is being taken out before being passed. When the paper sheet is detected, the stop means is operated to stop the paper sheet whose tip is detected by the second detection means, and the paper sheet previously taken out by the third detection means. When the end of passage of a class is detected, the stop means is deactivated. Control means for continuing the feeding of the paper sheet, and when the first detecting means detects the trailing edge of the paper sheet, the taking-out means starts the taking-out of the next paper sheet. A paper sheet processing device characterized in that 5. A plurality of paper sheets are sequentially supplied to a predetermined take-out position, the paper sheets supplied to the take-out position are taken out sequentially through a conveying path, and are conveyed along the conveying path at a predetermined distance from each other. The first to third detection means provided in order from the upstream side to the downstream side of the path detect the paper sheet passing through the conveyance path, and the second detection means detects the leading edge of the paper sheet. At this time, when the third detection means detects the paper sheet that is being taken out before and is passing, the paper sheet whose tip is detected by the second detection means is temporarily held in a stopped state. When the leading edge of the paper sheet is detected by the second detecting means, when the passage end of the previously taken-out sheet is detected by the third detecting means, the second detecting means The removal of the paper sheet whose leading end is detected is continued, and the paper sheet is detected by the first detecting means. When the trailing end passes the is detected, the paper sheet take-out method characterized by initiating the retrieval of the next sheet.