JPH0899755A - Postal matter aligning device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To enable postal matter to be smoothly fed/accumulated without a hitch, be excellent in reliability with no direction converting section required, and make the device small in size and low in cost. CONSTITUTION: The postal matter aligning device is equipped with a feeding means feeding postal matter T located in either one of an upper or a lower side, an accumulation means 3 accumulating the postal matter T located in either one of an upper or a lower side, a ceiling guide 12 with which the tip ends of the postal matters carried and fed to the accumulation means 3 from the feeding means, is brought in contact, and with a transfer mechanism section moving the postal matters brought in contact with the ceiling guide 12 to the inside of the accumulation means 3. The device is also equipped with an accumulation aligning means 11 composed of a aligning force investing mechanism section which invests aligning force to the respective postal matter T to be transferred to the inside of the accumulation means 3 to the bottom surface of the accumulation means 3, and of a pressing force investing mechanism section which invests proper pressing force to the sides of the respective postal matter T to be transferred to the inside of the accumulation means 3.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a mail alignment device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a mail item aligning device for rearranging mail items such as envelopes in a delivery route, it is necessary to repeatedly supply and sort a large number of mail items.

Therefore, in the conventional mail aligning apparatus 50, as shown in FIG. 5, the mail T is easily transferred from the supply table 54 of the supply section 53 to the stacking table 52 of the stacking section 51, and In order to make the apparatus compact, the stacking unit 51 and the supply unit 53 are arranged in two stages, upper and lower.

In FIG. 5, reference numeral 55 is an image scanner for reading the postal code of the postal matter T being conveyed.

However, the postal matter T has a portion called a flap f shown in FIG. 6 for sealing and pasting the seal, and this flap f interferes with the accumulation and the direction of supply / accumulation of the postal matter T is limited. Therefore, in the conventional device, as shown in FIG. 5, the direction changing unit 56 is provided between the supply unit 53 and the stacking unit 51.
Had to be installed.

[0006]

The problems of the flap f at the time of stacking and supplying are as follows.

[0007] For example, in the case of feeding, when trying to take out postal items arranged in the direction as shown in FIG. 5, when the postal item T to be taken out first is shorter than the subsequent postal item T, as shown in FIG. When the previous postal matter T is taken out, the front end of the postal matter T is caught by the flap f of the subsequent postal matter T 2
There are many situations in which we take sheets.

On the other hand, in the case of stacking, if the stacking is performed in the direction shown in FIG. 5, the stacked mail T is longer than the other mail T which subsequently enters the stacking section 51. 8 is long, as shown in FIG. 8, the flaps f of the other postal matter T that subsequently enter are caught at the tip of the piled postal matter T and the postal matter is not properly aligned in the accumulating portion 51. .

When the postal matter T is supplied from the supply section 53,
The rear end or the front end of the postal matter T needs to be properly aligned and aligned, and when aligning the postal matter T, since the feeding and the collecting are repeated many times, such a collecting mode is a problem.

Further, in general, the frequency of jamming (JAM) in the direction changing section 56 of the mail T is high, and when the direction changing section 56 is installed, the reliability of the processing of the mail T is lowered.

Further, if the reliability of the direction changing section 56 is increased, the mechanism becomes complicated, and there arises a problem that the machine becomes large in size and expensive.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the mail items can be smoothly supplied and accumulated without any trouble, and the direction change section is not required, which is highly reliable and can be reduced in size and price. An object is to provide an aligning device.

[0013]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mail arranging device for feeding mails arranged above or below and collecting mails arranged above or below the other. The accumulating means and the mail pieces supplied from the supplying means to the accumulating means are aligned and accumulated in such a manner that one edge of each mail piece is aligned with the accumulating means similar to the arrangement state in the supplying means. And an integrated alignment means.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mail arranging device, wherein the mail means is arranged on one of upper and lower sides and supplies the mail.
A stacking unit for stacking the postal items arranged on the other side, a ceiling guide with which the transporting leading ends of the postal items supplied from the supply unit contact, and a stacking unit for colliding the postal items hitting the ceiling guide. And a transfer mechanism that transfers the inside of the stacking means and aligns one end edge of each mail by applying a positioning force to the bottom side of the stacking means for each mail transferred inside the stacking means. The stacking unit has a stacking force imparting mechanism unit and a thrusting force imparting mechanism unit for imparting an appropriate pressing force to the side surface of each postal matter transferred inward of the stacking unit.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a mail arranging device, which is arranged above or below, and supplies a mail.
A stacking unit for stacking the postal items arranged on the other side, a ceiling guide with which the transporting leading ends of the postal items supplied from the supply unit contact, and a stacking unit for colliding the postal items hitting the ceiling guide. A transfer mechanism section using a screw for transferring the inside of the stacking device and one of the mails by applying the aligning force by the vibration to the bottom side of the collecting device to each of the mails transferred inside the collecting device. It has a stacking and aligning means including a vibrating plate and a rotating roller for aligning the edges of the stack, and a backup plate for applying an appropriate pressing force to the side surface of each mail transferred to the inside of the stacking means.

[0016]

The function of the present invention will be described below.

In the mail alignment device according to claim 1,
Mail from the supply means placed on either the top or bottom,
It is accumulated in the accumulation means arranged on the other side,
At this time, the stacking and aligning unit aligns and stacks the postal items in a state in which one edge of each postal matter is aligned with the stacking unit, similar to the arrangement state in the supply unit.

As a result, the postal matter can be supplied and collected smoothly without any trouble, the direction changing section is not required, the reliability is excellent, and the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

In the mail alignment device according to claim 2,
Mail from the supply means placed on either the top or bottom,
It is accumulated in the accumulation means arranged on the other side,
At this time, the transporting tip of the postal matter supplied from the supply means to the stacking means comes into contact with the ceiling guide of the stacking alignment means. The transfer mechanism transfers the postal matter hitting the ceiling guide to the inside of the stacking unit. Further, the aligning force imparting mechanism unit imparts an aligning force to the bottom surface side of the accumulating means to each of the mail pieces transferred inward of the accumulating means, and aligns one edge of each mail piece. Further, the pressing force applying mechanism section applies an appropriate pressing force to the side surface of each postal matter transferred inward of the accumulating means.

As a result, the mail pieces in the stacking means are aligned so that one edge of each mail piece is aligned, which is the same as the arrangement state in the feeding means, and they are stacked in close contact with each other. Therefore, the supply and collection of mail can be smoothly carried out without any trouble, the direction changing section is unnecessary, the reliability is high, and the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

In the mail alignment device according to claim 3,
Mail from the supply means placed on either the top or bottom,
It is accumulated in the accumulation means arranged on the other side,
At this time, the transporting tip of the postal matter supplied from the supply means to the stacking means comes into contact with the ceiling guide of the stacking alignment means. The transfer mechanism section using a screw transfers the postal matter hitting the ceiling guide to the inside of the accumulating means by the rotation of the screw. Further, the vibrating plate and the rotating roller impart a vibration to the respective postal matters transferred inward of the accumulating means so as to descend toward the bottom surface of the accumulating means, and align one edge of each postal matter. Further, the backup plate applies a proper pressing force to the side surface of each mail item transferred inward of the collecting means.

As a result, the mail pieces in the stacking means are aligned so that one edge of each mail piece is aligned in the same manner as in the arrangement state in the feeding means, and they are stacked in close contact with each other. Therefore, the supply and collection of mail can be smoothly carried out without any trouble, the direction changing section is unnecessary, the reliability is high, and the size and cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

[0023]

EXAMPLES Examples of the present invention will be described in detail below.

The postal matter aligning apparatus 1 shown in FIG.
In the upper and lower two-stage configuration, the supply means 2 for supplying the mail is arranged in the upper stage, and the plurality of collecting means 3 for collecting the mail T are arranged in the lower stage.

A conveying path 4 from the supply means 2 to the plurality of accumulating means 3 is formed, and an image scanner 5 for reading the postal code of the postal matter T or the like is arranged in the middle of the conveying path 4. .

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, three drive pulleys 6a, 6b, 6c arranged in a triangular shape are provided in the take-out portion of the postal matter T in the supply means 2.
And a take-out belt 8 having a large number of punched holes 7 which are hung around the outer circumferences of the three drive pulleys 6a, 6b, 6c and driven to rotate in the direction of the arrow a, and the take-out belt 8 on the inner surface side of the take-out belt 8. A negative pressure chamber forming member 9 that is arranged in a state in which the elongated holes 9a provided in the end face are in close contact with each other and that is connected to a vacuum source to form a negative pressure chamber on the inner surface side of the take-out belt 8 and an auxiliary negative pressure chamber forming member 30. The mail delivery means 10 is provided.

The plurality of stacking means 3 are provided with stack aligning means 11 shown in FIG.

The integrated aligning means 11 corresponds to the supplying means 2
A flat ceiling guide 12 with which a transporting tip T1 of the postal matter T supplied from the stacking means 3 comes into contact, and the ceiling guide 12
The screw 13 that constitutes a transfer mechanism that transfers the postal matter T that hits the inside of the collecting means 3 and the bottom surface of the collecting means 3 with respect to each postal matter T that is transferred to the inside of the collecting means 3. A vibrating plate 14 which constitutes a positioning force imparting mechanism section for imparting a positioning force by the vibration of 1 to align the lower end edges of each mail T;
A rotary roller 15 that constitutes a positioning force imparting mechanism portion that is rotationally driven in the direction of the arrow shown in FIG.
And among the postal matter T transferred to the inside of the stacking means 3,
The backup plate 16 constitutes a pressing force applying mechanism unit which comes into contact with the side surface of the postal matter T which first enters the accumulating means 3 and applies an appropriate pressing force. The backup plate 16 has its upper end supported by a slide body 18 slidably fitted to a guide shaft 17 horizontally arranged above the ceiling guide 12, and is integrated by a spring 19 as shown in FIG. It is urged toward the entrance side of the means 3 to apply an appropriate pressing force to the side surface of the postal matter T.

At the entrance side of the stacking means 3, as shown in FIG. 4, the belt conveying parts 20 and 21 forming the conveying path 4 are formed.
And a transport guide 22 along the belt transport unit 20.

Further, the bottom guide 2 is provided along the vibrating plate 14.
3 are arranged.

Next, the operation of the mail alignment device 1 will be described.

In this mail item aligning apparatus 1, a large number of mail items T previously arranged in the arrangement shown in FIG. The forming member 9 is sequentially taken out by the operation of the forming member 9 and sent to the conveying path 4.

A postal code or the like is read by the image scanner 5 on the postal matter T conveyed through the conveying path 4, whereby each postal matter T is descended and accumulated in a plurality of accumulating means 3.

At this time, the conveying tip T1 of the postal matter T abuts on the ceiling guide 12 of the stacking and aligning means 11, and the transfer mechanism portion using the screw 13 causes the postal matter T abutting the ceiling guide 12 to screw the postal matter T into the screw 13. Is transferred to the inside of the accumulating means 3.

The vibrating plate 14 and the rotating roller 15 are
A vibration and a rotational force are applied to each postal matter T transferred inward of the accumulating means 3 so as to descend to the bottom side of the accumulating means 3, and the lower edge of each postal matter T, that is, the flap. Align the edges on the side opposite to f.

Further, the backup plate 16
Uses the biasing force of the spring 19 to apply an appropriate pressing force to the side surface of each postal matter T transferred inward of the stacking means 3.

As a result, each postal matter T in the stacking means 3 is
Is aligned in a state in which one edge of each postal matter T is aligned as in the arrangement state in the feeding means 2 and without being pulled by the flap f of the postal matter T already accumulated, and It will be accumulated in close contact with each other, and the mail T
Can be smoothly supplied and accumulated without any trouble, the direction changing section as in the conventional example is not necessary, the frequency of jams is reduced, the reliability is excellent, and the size and cost of the device can be reduced.

The postal matter T thus accumulated in each accumulating means 3 is manually transferred onto the supply table 2a of the supplying means 2 and can be repeatedly supplied and re-collected.

[0039]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the supply and collection of mail can be smoothly carried out without any trouble, the direction changing section is unnecessary, the reliability is high, the size of the apparatus is small, and the price is low. It is possible to provide a mail arranging device that can also be realized.

According to the second aspect of the invention, the operations of the ceiling guide, the transfer mechanism section, the aligning force imparting mechanism section and the pressing force imparting mechanism section cause the mail in the accumulating means to be arranged in the arrangement in the supplying means. The same postal items will be aligned so that one edge is aligned, and they will be collected in close contact with each other, so that the postal items can be supplied and collected smoothly without any trouble and the direction. It is possible to provide a mail alignment device that does not require a conversion unit, is highly reliable, and can be made compact and inexpensive.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, the operation of the ceiling guide, the transfer mechanism section using the screw, the vibrating plate, the rotating roller, and the backup plate causes the mail in the accumulating means to be arranged in the arrangement state in the supplying means. The same postal items will be aligned so that one edge is aligned, and they will be collected in close contact with each other, so that the postal items can be supplied and collected smoothly without any trouble and the direction. It is possible to provide a mail alignment device that does not require a conversion unit, is highly reliable, and can be made compact and inexpensive.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of mail delivery means of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a partially cutaway perspective view of the mail delivery means of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an integrated alignment unit of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing a configuration of a conventional device.

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a mail item.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of the supply of mail by the conventional device.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of postal items accumulated in a conventional device.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 mail alignment device 2 supply means 3 stacking means 4 transport path 5 image scanner 10 mail sending means 11 stack aligning means 12 ceiling guide 13 screw 14 diaphragm 15 rotating roller 16 backup plate T mail

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A supply means for supplying mails arranged on one of the upper and lower sides, a collecting means for collecting mails arranged on the other of the upper and lower sides, and a mail supplied from the supplying means to the collecting means. A mail aligning means for aligning and accumulating the goods by aligning one end edge of each postal matter to the accumulating means in the same manner as the arrangement state in the supplying means. apparatus. 2. A supply means arranged to feed the mail pieces arranged above or below, a stacking means arranged to stack the mail pieces arranged above or below the other, and a mail supplied from the supply means to the stacking means. A ceiling guide with which the conveying tip of the article comes into contact, and a transfer mechanism section for transferring the postal matter hitting the ceiling guide inward of the stacking means,
A positioning force applying mechanism that applies a positioning force to the bottom surface side of the collecting means to each mail transferred to the inside of the collecting means and aligns one edge of each mail, A mail aligning device comprising: a stacking and aligning means including a pressing force applying mechanism for applying an appropriate pressing force to a side surface of each postal matter that is transported toward one side. 3. A supply means for supplying the postal matter disposed above or below, a stacking means for collecting the postal matter disposed above or below the other, and a mail supplied from the supply means to the collecting means. For the ceiling guide with which the conveying tip of the article comes into contact, the transfer mechanism section using a screw for transferring the postal matter hitting the ceiling guide to the inside of the stacking means, and each postal matter transferred to the inside of the stacking means. On the other hand, it is appropriate for the vibration plate and the rotating roller for aligning one end edge of each mail piece by applying a positioning force due to the vibration to the bottom side of the stacking means, and the side surface of each mail piece transferred inside the collecting means. A mail aligning device comprising a stacking and aligning means including a backup plate for applying various pressing forces.