JPH09240902A - Sheet accumulation device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sheet accumulation device capable of miniaturizing the overall accumulation device without reducing accumulating capacity and eliminating a driving part to adjust vertical height of an accumulating base. SOLUTION: A circular arc locus which a bent part 302 draws in accordance with accumulating quantity of sheets and a surface extending a sheet guide surface of a gate means are made to cross with each other by providing the protruded bent part 302 on the side of the guide surface of the sheets from a straight line connecting a rotational center of a holding means and a point of a guiding means 201 making contact with an accumulated surface of the sheets on the guiding means 201.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet stacking device for postal letters and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Various paper sheet sorting apparatuses have been developed so far in order to save labor in sorting paper sheets.
Among these devices, a part for accumulating the paper sheets classified based on the information written on the paper sheets for each classification information is the paper sheet accumulating device. The paper sheet stacking device includes a carrying means for carrying paper sheets, a plurality of stacking means for stacking paper sheets,
Gate means for guiding the paper sheets from the conveying means to the respective accumulating means based on the information recorded on the paper sheets corresponding to the accumulating means, and the accumulating means stacks the accumulated paper sheets. And a guide means for guiding the paper sheets guided from the gate means onto the stack base.

As one example of a paper sheet stacking device, European Patent Publication EP 0407795B1 (Reference 1) discloses:
A stacking device for postal letters, which is one of paper sheets, is disclosed. This letter collecting device comprises a conveying means for conveying a letter,
A stop plate inclined in the letter transport direction and a stacking means configured by a stacking table that swings on the upstream side in the transport direction according to the letter stack amount (the slope becomes gentler as the stack amount increases), and the transport means to the stack means. It is composed of a gate means for guiding a letter and a guide means having a linear body and an arcuate tip.

The guiding means serves to guide the letter guided by the gate means to the loading platform or the upper side of the letters already accumulated. The guide means is rotatably attached to the fixed shaft of the holding means, and the leading end thereof rises according to the amount of the accumulated letters. A cover of the conveying means is attached to the lower side of the conveying means, and the tip of the guiding means can be lifted until it hits the cover. The tip shape of the guide means is a curve in which the contact point between the guide means and the stacked letters is a fixed distance from the inclined stop plate, and the letters are held even if the amount of letters accumulated changes. The pressing position of the guide means is kept substantially constant. Further, the guide means has a cross section in which a plate is bent into a mountain shape, and both ends of the mountain are a guide surface of a letter.

Further, as another example of the paper sheet stacking device,
Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 49-94056 (reference 2) conveys a letter, conveys the letter from the conveying means to the accumulating means, the accumulating means including a stacking table and a stacking box that moves up and down by a motor. The gate means, a guide means having a bent shape that is fixed around the rotation axis and rotates according to the amount of letters accumulated, and a detector that detects the angle of the rotation axis to which the guide means is attached, are formed. A letter stacking device is disclosed in which the height of the loading platform is adjusted so that the stacking position remains substantially constant (the angle of the guide means with respect to the horizontal plane) even if the amount changes.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION In order to sort a large number of paper sheets with a predetermined volume of the paper sheet stacking device, the stacking capacity of the paper sheets stacked in each sorting rack is not reduced. It is necessary to downsize the compartment shelves. In Document 1, the contact point between the guide means and the letter comes to extend on the guide surface of the gate means in a state where the letters are fully collected. Therefore, the contact point is separated from the transport means by the length from the mounting portion of the guide means to the contact point with the letter multiplied by the sine of the angle at which the guide surface of the gate means intersects the transport means. That is, even if it is full, a space remains between the transport means and the uppermost letter. In this configuration, since the area between the contact point and the conveying means above the full point is not effectively used, the letter stacking apparatus can be downsized or the number of divided shelves in the height direction can be increased. It gets harder.

If the guide means as shown in the above-mentioned document 1 is used, and the contact point of the guide means and the letter at the time of fullness is arranged above the surface extending the guide surface of the gate means. In this case, since the tip shape of the guide means is a curved shape in which the contact point between the guide means and the letter is a constant distance from the stop plate, the tip portion of the guide means is protruded largely toward the conveying means. Become. Therefore, a large empty area is formed inside the curved portion of the cover of the conveying means and the tip of the guiding means, and in this case as well, it is difficult to reduce the size of the dividing shelves or increase the number in the height direction.

On the other hand, in the above-mentioned document 2, the letter is guided above the extended surface of the guide surface of the gate means by bending the guide means and controlling the height of the loading table. However, in order to keep the landing position and landing angle when the letters are piled up in an optimal state at all times, a control mechanism such as a drive unit, a sensor, and a control circuit for changing the height of the loading platform is required, and the cost is high. Become.

It is an object of the present invention to provide a paper sheet stacking apparatus which is small in size without increasing the stacking capacity as much as possible or which increases the number of partition shelves in the height direction of the stacking apparatus and which is low in cost. Especially.

[0010]

[Means for Solving the Problems] The object is to convey a paper sheet, a plurality of accumulating means for accumulating the paper sheet, and the conveying means for the paper sheet based on information of the paper sheet. Of the stacking means on which the paper sheets are stacked by being held by the gate means for guiding to the stacking means defined by the above, and the holding means in the stacking means, which is rotatably held coaxially with the gate means. Guide means for guiding the paper sheets to the stacking surface or the upper surface of the paper sheets stacked on the stacking table, and the guiding means and the paper sheets in the stacking means according to the stacking amount of the paper sheets. In a paper sheet stacking device provided with a stacking base whose contact height with a sheet changes, the guide means has a rotation center of the holding means, and a point at which the guide means contacts a stacking surface of the paper sheets. It has a convex bending part on the guide surface side of the paper sheet from the straight line connecting Jo of the bent portion is achieved by configuring such that the arc-shaped trajectory drawn according to the accumulated amount of the paper sheet, and extended surface of the sheet guide surface of said gate means intersect.

In one aspect, the guide means is convex toward the guide surface side of the paper sheet with respect to a straight line connecting the center of rotation of the holding means and the point where the guide means contacts the stacking surface of the paper sheet. Between the holding means and the convex bending portion closest to the holding means of the guide means.
It has a guide surface for continuously guiding the paper sheets from the gate means, and the guide surface of the gate means and the guide surface of the guide means are parallel to each other from a state where the paper sheets are not accumulated on the stacking table. The sheet is guided by the guide surface of the gate means and the guide surface of the guide means up to the accumulation amount of the paper sheet, and when the accumulation amount of the paper sheet is parallel to the guide surface, the gate is used. This is achieved by guiding the paper sheets by means.

[0012]

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a paper sheet processing apparatus to which the paper sheet stacking apparatus according to the present invention is applied. The letter sorter shown in Fig. 1, which sorts postal letters such as postcards and envelopes, reads not only the zip code on the letter, but also the address, and prints this information as a bar code on the letter. Is to be processed. Therefore, in addition to the separating unit 1 that separates the letters one by one, the detecting unit 2 that detects the double feeding and the thickness of the letters, and the aligning unit 3 that corrects the skew and shift of the letters, the postal code and the address A reading unit 4 for reading, a printer 5 for printing a barcode, and barcode reading units 6, 12 for reading the barcode are provided. An ink jet printer is used as the printer 5 for printing a barcode in order to print letters of various thicknesses and materials.

There are two types of sorting machines, an offline type and an online type, for recognizing a postal code or an address and printing a bar code. The letter sorter shown in FIG. 1 can print a letter whose address cannot be read. This is an off-line type in which an ID code is once added to eliminate the letter, and another device is used to perform classification again. Of course, the present invention is not limited to the off-line type letter sorter.

Next, the flow of letters in the letter sorter shown in FIG. 1 will be described. The letters 8 set in the hopper 7 of the letter sorter are separated one by one by the separating unit 1. As for the letters separated by one letter, the detection unit 2 detects double feeding, bending rigidity (hardness) of the letters, and thickness of the letters in order to prevent misclassification of the letters and obstacles during transportation in advance. . This detector 2
Letters that are considered to be double-fed, or that have a large bending rigidity (hardness) or a letter that has a thickness greater than a predetermined value,
The transport gate 9 on the downstream side of the detection unit 2 is switched and taken into the reject box 10.

The letter which is not considered to be abnormal by the detection unit 2 is conveyed to the alignment unit 3 and the skew and shift are corrected. This aligning unit 3 corrects the posture of the letter and the barcode printing position is the reading sensor position so that the address reading unit 4 and the barcode reading unit 6, which are on the downstream side, can perform reading normally. It is provided to modify it to suit.

The letter 8 which has passed through the aligning section 3 is read by the address reading section 4 first of the zip code and the address, and then by the bar code reading section 6 provided on the downstream side thereof.
The barcode attached to the letter by the sender or another station can be read.

With respect to the letter to which the bar code is not attached, the ink jet printer 5 prints the letter at the position of the specified letter on the basis of the information read by the address reading section 4.

The letter on which the barcode is printed is read by the barcode reading section 12 on the downstream side of the printer 5. By this bar code information, the gate 14 and a gate (not shown) provided on the upper part of the dividing shelf are switched so that the letters are accumulated on the predetermined dividing shelf 13. An ID code is given to the letter whose address cannot be read, and the letter is conveyed to the sorting shelf 13A for rejection.

In the sorting machine of FIG. 1, a downstream stacking path 15 of the bar code reading section 12 is provided with a letter-shaped stacking and conveying path 15 consisting of two long and short conveying routes. This improves the reliability of stacking by stacking two subsequent letters on the preceding letter and stacking two letters on the partition shelf when two letters are stacked on the same partition shelf. It is for. Usually, a letter is conveyed on the longer conveying path 15A of the letter overlapped conveying path, but when superposing a letter, a succeeding letter is conveyed on the shorter conveying path 15B to become a preceding letter. Overlap. By stacking letters like this,
Prevents jamming caused by a succeeding letter colliding with a preceding letter when the letters are successively collected on the same divided shelf.

A transport path 16 for transporting a letter to the partition shelf is provided above the partition shelf 13. The transporting means are endless belts 17A and 17B which are in contact with each other to sandwich and transport the letter. Power is transmitted from a conveyor belt drive motor (not shown) to these conveyor belts 17 to rotate them.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the individual dividing shelves 13 of the paper sheet stacking apparatus of the present invention. The division shelf 13 is the conveyor belt 1
Gate means 2 for separating letter 8A from 7A and 17B
04, a loading platform 208 for loading the letters 8B, a guiding means 201 for guiding the letters 8A from the gate means 204 to the loading platform 208, and a partition plate 207 for partitioning the partition shelves 13. The entire partition shelf 13 is the base frame 2
It is attached to 06. Conveyor belts 17A and 1
The letter 8A conveyed by 7B is the gate means 2
It is guided to the inside of the divided shelf by 04, and the guide means 201
If the letter conveyed by is the first sheet, the loading platform 2
On the upper surface of 08, the second and subsequent sheets are guided to the upper surface of the letters 8B accumulated on the loading table. Letter 8A is a partition plate 207
After hitting, the leading end of the guide means 201 is pressed and stopped.

The gate means 204 is fixed to the shaft 203. The shaft 203 is a rotary solenoid 20.
5 is fixed. The rotary solenoid 205 is fixed to the base frame 206. The power of the rotary solenoid 205 is supplied to the gate means 2 via the shaft 203.
04, the gate means 204 is opened and closed.

The guide means 201 is attached to the shaft 203, to which the gate means 204 is attached, via the holding means 202. Since the holding means 202 is rotatably attached around the shaft 203, even if the gate means 204 is opened and closed, power is not transmitted from the shaft 203 to the guide means 201, and the letter 8A is stably guided. The letters 8B accumulated on the loading platform 208 can be pressed down stably.

Since the guiding means 201 is not directly fixed to the shaft 203 of the gate means 204, it is possible to assemble the rotary solenoid 205, the shaft 203, the gate means 204 and the holding means 202 in advance at another place in phase with each other. it can. By fixing the thus-assembled gate means driving section to the base frame 206 from the back surface of the base frame 206 through the mounting holes 211 and then fixing the guide means 201 to the holding means 202, the assembly work efficiency is improved and , The assembly accuracy of the machine is improved.

The partition plates 207A and 207B are fixed to the base frame 206. The loading platform 208 is rotatably fixed to the partition plate 207A by a joint 209 on the downstream side in the transport direction, and is supported by a leaf spring (not shown). When the letters are not accumulated on the loading platform 208, the upstream side in the conveying direction is higher than the downstream side in the conveying direction due to the leaf spring, and the upstream side in the conveying direction is lowered horizontally according to the accumulation amount of the letters (the leading end of the guide means). The height of the sheet varies depending on the stacking amount, and is intended for the case where the loading platform 208 is fixed or the upstream side in the transport direction swings. As described later, the angle between the guide means and the uppermost surface of the paper sheet. Is a mechanism for sharpening). The loading platform 208 is
A notch is provided in the central portion on the operating side, and the operator can grasp the upper and lower surfaces of the letter when he / she puts the sorting shelf 13 into the hand, so that the letter can be easily taken out.

The static elimination brush 213 is attached to the holding means 202. This means that the letter 8A is the conveyor belt 17
It is a position where it contacts the portion sandwiched between A and 17B. When the letter is conveyed by the conveyor belt, slip occurs between the letter and the conveyor belt in the sandwiched portion, and the letter and the conveyor belt rub against each other. This is the source of static electricity. Since the surface of the letter is an insulator, the charges on the surface are difficult to move. Therefore, since the electric charge is accumulated in the portion which is sandwiched by the conveyor belt, the conductive charge eliminating brush 213 is placed at this position, and the electric charge accumulated in the letter is released to the base frame 206 through the shaft 203. As a result, a letter which is easily charged is electrified by the guide means 201.
And prevent it from sticking to the gate means 204,
The operator is prevented from receiving an electric shock due to the electric charge stored in the integrated letters and the control device from malfunctioning. In addition, when the charge of the static elimination brush 213 cannot be escaped well, such as when the conduction between the shaft 203 and the rotary solenoid 205 is bad, the static elimination brush 213 and the base frame 206 may be connected by a conductive wire and short-circuited.

The tray 214 is a partition plate 20 on both sides of the partition shelf.
It is attached to 7 and can be easily removed. The tray 214 prevents the operator's hand from hitting the transport path of the lower sorting shelf (not shown). Further, since a recess is provided in the center of the tray and the operator guides the hand through the recess when taking out the letter, it is easy to take the letter. In addition, when a letter is jammed in the transport path below the tray 214, the tray 214 can be removed to easily perform maintenance of the transport path below. Further, there are paper wallets 215 on both sides of the concave portion of the tray 214.

A display board 216 for displaying information, a display lamp 217 indicating that the sorting shelves are full, and a print button 218 for printing a paper label attached to a stack of letters that have been collected are attached to the partition boards 207A and 207, respectively. Has been. The display board 216 displays the destination, the number of the divided shelf, and the like. The indicator lamp 217 is lit when the letters 8B are almost filled and informs the operator that the bins are full. When the operator presses the print button 218, the paper label corresponding to the sorting shelf is printed by a printer (not shown).

Guide means 201 holding letter 8B
In the full state, a full detection plate provided in the guide means 201 shields a full detection sensor (not shown) from light, and a control device (not shown) detects this and lights up red by supplying a current to the display lamp 217. Indicator lamp 217
The lighting pattern of blinks first when the bin is nearly full and then remains lit when it is full. The lighting pattern and display color of the display lamp 217 are not limited to these. When the bin is full, the controller inhibits opening of the bin's gate means 204 to prevent new letters from entering the bin.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of the guide means of the present invention as seen from the guide surface side for guiding a letter. As shown in FIG. 3, the guide means 201 is composed of a base portion 310 which is fixed to the holding means 202 with the bent portion 302 as a boundary, and an arm portion 311 which holds the accumulated letters. The rib 301 provided on the base portion 310 and the bent portion 302 will be described later.

The arm portion 311 is provided with a guide surface having a chevron cross section and a letter holding portion 304. Since the arm portion 311 has a spatial margin compared to the base portion 310, it may be a guide surface having another cross-sectional shape. The tip portion 304 is rounded in order to prevent the guide means 201 from sticking in a letter when the amount of letters collected is small and to stabilize the holding of the letter. Further, since the width of the tip portion 310 is made narrower than the width of the entire arm portion 311, it is difficult for the letter pressing position to change due to the inclination of the surface of the accumulated letters.

Further, on the base portion 310, a full advance detection plate 305 which shields an optical switch (not shown) for indicating that the dividing shelf 13 is approaching full, and an optical switch (not shown) for indicating a full state are shielded. Full detection plate 3
06 is provided. The light beam of the optical switch that judges the fullness detection is transmitted through the transmission hole 30 when the section shelf is not yet full.
Go through 7. Due to the accumulation of the letters, the guide means 201 is rotationally moved, so that the full advance detection plate 305 shields the optical switch first, and then the full detection plate 306 shields the optical switch. It goes without saying that the full notice and the full detection means are not limited to the optical switch.

The guiding means 201 has the holding means 20 by means of the positioning protrusions 308 and 309 provided on the base portion 310.
2 is positioned. As a result, the guide means 201 can be easily held by the holding means 20 with a mounting screw (not shown).
2 can be fixed.

The holding means 202 is further provided with sticking prevention projections 313 to prevent the letters from sticking to the holding means 202, and to stick the letters to the guide means 201 and the gate means 204 in FIG. This prevents jams from occurring.

Bushings 312 are press-fitted into both openings of the holding means 202. The material of the bush 312 is copper. The bush 312 is preferably made of a material having good conductivity, but any material having conductivity may be used.
Further, it is desirable that the friction resistance be small. The bush 312 is guided through the holding means 202 to the guiding means 20.
The charges charged in 1 and the charges charged in a letter escape to the base frame 206 shown in FIG. The electric charge transferred to the base frame 206 is released to the ground by providing a ground wire (not shown).

FIG. 4 is a front view of the divided shelf.
In FIG. 4, θ1 is an angle formed by the arm portion 311 with the loading platform 208, and θ2 is an angle formed by the base portion 310 with the loading platform 208. A point 410 is a point at which the arm portion 311 of the guiding means 201 presses the letter (hereinafter, referred to as a pressing point 410). Point 4
11 is a point where the extension of the base 310 and the surface of the loading platform 208 or letters (hereinafter referred to as a stacking surface) intersect with each other, and the letters that are input to the divided shelves land (hereinafter referred to as landing points 411. Yes).

The guide means 201 is initially in the A position,
As the letters are accumulated, the leading end portion in contact with the letters is lifted, and the guide means 201 is rotated toward B. When reaching the uppermost point B, the base portion 310 of the guiding means 201 contacts the transport path cover 401. Further, according to the accumulation of letters, the bent portion 30 which is the downstream edge of the base portion 310 of the guide means 201.
2 moves across a surface 420 extending the guide surface of the gate means 204. This is for guiding the inserted letters firmly to the stacking surface by the guide means 201 when the number of letters collected is small, and for collecting more letters when the number of letters collected is large. This is so that the part that holds the letter can move to a higher position.

In order to allow the portion holding the letter to move to a higher position, the height of the protrusion on the back side (the upper side in FIG. 4) of the letter guide surface of the base portion 310 which is in contact with the transport path cover 401 is made low. There is. Further, the letters 8A put into the sorting shelves land on the upper surface of the letters 8B so as not to collide with the upstream end of the accumulated letters 8B. Therefore, the shape of the base 301 is a flat plate. Here, when the base portion 310 is formed of a flat plate, the letter is likely to stick to the guide means 201 due to the electric charge that is charged in the letter, and thus the letter collides with the succeeding letter and causes a jam. Therefore, in order to prevent the letters inserted into the sorting shelf 13 from sticking to the guide means 201, ribs 301 are provided on the base portion 310 as shown in FIG.

How to attach this rib is shown in FIG. 5 and FIG.
This will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 5 is a cross-sectional view of the letter 8 guided along the guide means 201, taken along a plane orthogonal to the letter guiding direction. The letter is guided in contact with the rib 301. In FIG. 5, d1 represents the distance between the ribs 301, and d2 represents the width of the rib in contact with the letter. Here, d2 / d1 is called a contact ratio. However,
d1>d2> 0.

FIG. 6 shows the results of an experiment in which the sticking ratio of letters is changed by changing the contact ratio. In FIG. 6, the horizontal axis of the graph represents the contact ratio, and the vertical axis represents the letter sticking ratio. As shown in FIG. 6, when the contact ratio is close to 0 and close to 1, the sticking ratio of the letter increases. When the contact ratio is close to 0, the distance between the ribs d1 is too wide with respect to the width d2 of the ribs, so that the letter is drawn to the flat plate portion between the ribs and is easily attached. Further, when the contact ratio is close to 1, that is, when the rib distance d1 is narrower than the rib width d2, the collection of the rib contact surfaces is equivalent to a flat plate, and the letters are easily attached. Therefore, between the contact ratios b1 and b2 at which the sticking ratio of the letter is less than or equal to a sufficiently small value a,
This is an appropriate range for providing ribs. In the present embodiment, the rib is formed with the contact ratio b3 that minimizes the sticking ratio. The height of the rib is preferably high, but if the rib is made too high, a letter thrown from the gate means collides with the rib, so a height that does not exceed the extension line of the guide surface of the gate means is desirable. Further, the upstream side of the rib, that is, the end on the holding means 202 side is provided with an inclined portion in order to prevent damage to the letter. If an inclined portion is provided, a landing point 41 described later will be provided.
It is possible to make the height of the rib higher than the guide surface of the gate means within a range that does not affect the position of 1. By configuring the ribs 301 in this way, the base portion 310 can be made thin, and the guide means 201 in FIG.
Since it does not interfere with, it is possible to make the partition shelf small. Further, by inserting the letters along the ribs 301, it is possible to prevent the letters from sticking to the guide means 201, and as a result, a letter in contact with the guide means 201 is collided with a succeeding letter and a jam occurs. It is possible to prevent a phenomenon that a letter or a letter is damaged.

Next, referring to FIG. 7, the landing point 411 of the letter.
The position will be described. FIG. 7 is a simplified version of FIG. As shown in (A) of FIG. 7, the letter starts and enters along the guide surface of the base 310 of the guide means 201, and the loading table 2
Landing on 08. The landing point 411 of the letters moves to the partition plate side like a locus 421 according to the accumulation of the letters.
As shown in FIG. 7B, the guide surface of the base portion 310 of the guide means 201 is a surface 42 obtained by extending the guide surface of the gate means 204.
When it is above 0, the partition plate 207 and the landing point 411
The length L1 between the two becomes the minimum value L11. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 7C, the letter does not contact the base portion 310 of the guide means 201 but directly lands on the landing point 411 on the extension of the guide surface of the gate means 204. Landing point 41
1 is a locus 4 along the extension of the guide surface of the gate means 204.
It moves in the direction away from the partition plate like 22.

The longer the distance L1 between the partition plate 207 and the landing point 411, the shorter the length of the portion of the letter that is not in contact with the upstream collecting surface. Then, the upstream side of the letter can be easily restored straight along the downstream side. This is because as the letter enters and is pressed downward in the middle of the letter, the speed at which the trailing edge of the letter reaches the stacking surface becomes faster.
If 11 is short and can be pressed only by the leading edge of the letter, it takes a long time for the trailing edge of the letter to reach the stacking surface, which causes a problem that the letter does not fall completely before the next letter enters and a jam occurs. To do. Therefore, the minimum value L11 is entered into this sorting shelf, that is, the letter having the lowest rigidity among the letters handled by this paper sheet stacking device, for example, the length that gives a sufficient restoring force to a letter made of vinyl. By making the length longer, the upstream side (rear end) of the letter also quickly separates from the guide means for other letters. As a result, it becomes difficult for the letter to stick to the base of the guide means, and jams and damage to the letter can be prevented.

As for the upper limit of L1, in FIG. 4, when the shortest letter among the letters to be handled is in contact with the partition plate 207, the leading edge of the letter that enters next at the throwing angle θ2 is this short letter. The value should not hit the trailing edge of the letter.
More preferably, a lighter and more rigid letter such as a postcard manufactured by a government official, the partition plate 207 increases as θ2 increases.
Since it becomes difficult to reach the partition plate 207, it is preferable that the length of L1 be equal to or less than the limit angle θ2 at which the official postcard can reach the partition plate 207.

With the letters not collected, the loading table 2
If the upstream side of 08 in the transport direction is lifted, θ2
Can be reduced. When the bent portion 302 is formed in this way, the downstream end of the letter put in the sorting shelf is
When the letter reaches the vicinity of the pressing point 410, the letter is changed to the bent portion 30.
Since the letter 2 is not in contact with the letter 2, the letter can enter the partition plate side without impairing the kinetic energy in the feeding direction. With such a configuration, it is possible to arrange the collection of letters.

Further, when the letters are piled up to near full, the landing point of the letters moves to the upstream side of the piled letters.
By setting the length to be shorter than the length of the letter to be handled in the conveyance direction, it is possible to prevent the succeeding letters from colliding with the upstream end of the accumulated letters, and thereby to prevent jamming and damage to the letters.

Next, the manner of deformation when letters are accumulated will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 8 is a simplified version of FIG. Initially, the letter placed in the divided shelf is continuously guided from the gate means to the guide means as shown in FIG. 8A, and the downstream end of the letter lands on the collecting surface. next,
As shown in FIG. 8B, the downstream side of the letter moves toward the tip of the guide along the stacking surface. The downstream side of the letter is decelerated by friction with the collecting surface, and the entire letter is bent and deformed. Next, as shown in FIG. 8C, the downstream side of the letter enters beyond the pressing point at the tip of the guide means. At this time, the downstream side of the letter receives a pressing force from the pressing point 410 to increase the frictional force and is further decelerated. In addition, the upstream side of the letter collapses and accumulates on the accumulation surface side due to the restoring force of the letter itself that tends to be straight and gravity.

Here, when θ1 shown in FIG. 4 is small, FIG.
(D), the letter comes into contact with the bent portion 302 of the guide means in the course of the bending deformation and receives the drag force 230. Since the upstream side (rear end) of the letter continues to be bent and deformed by the inertial force 231, the contact pressure between the downstream side of the letter and the stacking surface increases, and the friction force increases to make it difficult for the letter to enter. This phenomenon is particularly noticeable on postcards that are light and have high rigidity. In the present embodiment, when the postcard manufactured by the government is put into the sorting shelf and landed on the loading platform, and the downstream side of the letter is bent and deformed while advancing toward the pressing point side, the bending point 302 of the guide means 201 is above the letter. Θ1 is determined so that it exists. With this configuration, when the downstream side of the letter reaches the pressing point 410 of the guide means, no reaction force is received from the bent portion 302 of the guide means, so that the bending deformation of the letter is not promoted and the letter is It is possible to enter beyond the pressing point 410. Further, desirably, when the guide means 201 reaches the uppermost position, θ1 is set to an angle that minimizes the gap between the arm portion 304 of the guide means and the conveyance path cover 401, thereby maximizing the integration capacity. You can

Further, when the distance L2 between the pressing points 410 and the landing point 411 shown in FIG. 4 is small, or when the guide means is straight without the bent portion 302, as shown in FIG. During the deformation, the pressing force that the letter receives from the pressing point increases the frictional force acting on the downstream side of the letter,
The downstream side of the letter is decelerated. Since the upstream side of the letter tries to continue entering as it is, the bending deformation is promoted. Then, since the kinetic energy possessed by the letter is consumed by the bending deformation, the amount of entry of the letter is reduced.

FIG. 9 is a diagram showing the relationship between the distance L2 between the pressing points 410 and the landing point 411, and the length (hereinafter referred to as the entering amount) of the accumulated postcards that have entered beyond the pressing points 410. is there. In FIG. 9, the horizontal axis represents L2, and the vertical axis represents the letter entry amount from the pressing point 410. L22 is a value at which the entry amount reaches a peak, and L21 is a value obtained by extending the value at which the letter entry amount is stable to the first half of the peak. The approaching amount first increases with an increase in L2, reaches a peak when L2 reaches a certain length, and becomes substantially constant in the length thereafter. L22 at which the entry amount reaches a peak is the length at which the bending deformation of the letter is completed and starts to return when the downstream side of the letter reaches the pressing point. After L22, the kinetic energy consumed by bending deformation is suppressed to a minimum, so
The amount of letters entered is stable. In the guide means of this embodiment,
At the beginning of stacking when L2 is minimum, the value of L2 is set to be larger than L21 shown in FIG. 9 so that the letter can reach the partition plate. This L21 is a value obtained by an experiment with a postcard manufactured by the government.

Further, the mounting position of the guide means will be described with reference to FIGS. 10, 11 and 12.

FIG. 10 is a view of the divided shelf viewed from above. In FIG. 10, reference numeral 810 denotes a reference surface through which the edge of the letter on the side of the base frame 206 passes in a letter sent by the conveying means, and will be referred to as a reference conveying surface hereinafter.
The reference transport surface 810 is a surface that aligns the edges on the base frame side when the letter passes through the alignment section 3 in FIG. 1, and in the present embodiment, the letter does not get caught on the irregularities on the base frame side. Only a distance apart. L3
Is the pressing point 41 of the guide means 201 from the conveyance reference surface 801.
The length is up to 0.

FIG. 11 shows a state in which the letters aligned on the divided shelves are measured by changing the L3. In FIG. 11, the horizontal axis represents L3 and the vertical axis represents letter alignment. The letter alignment refers to the length in the direction along the base frame 206 (longitudinal direction of the divided shelves) and the direction perpendicular to the vertical direction (width direction of the divided shelves) of the stacking area of the letters stacked on the loading table. It is a value divided by the length of the letter in the longitudinal direction and the length in the width direction. The closer the alignment is to 1, the more organized the letters are. FIG. 11 shows the alignment in the width direction that affects the ease of gripping when taking out a letter.

In FIG. 11, when L3 is increased from 0, the alignment in the lengthwise direction and the alignment in the widthwise direction decrease up to a certain distance, and increase above that. This is because the letter that has been thrown into the sorting shelf or that hits the partition plate is pressed by the pressing point of the guide means and the letter rotates around the pressing point, so the pressing point contacts depending on the distance from the base frame to the pressing point. This is because the positional relationship between the position of the letter and the center of gravity of the letter also changes, and thus the motion form until the letter stops changes. This situation will be described with reference to FIG.

FIG. 12 is a diagram showing a state where letters are accumulated by simplifying FIG. In FIG. 11, L3 is f
When the value indicated by 1 to f2 is taken, the guide means is shown in FIG.
As shown in (A), the base frame 206 side is slightly pressed from the vicinity of the center of gravity 220 of the letter. Then, the letter base frame 206 side is slightly decelerated as compared with the take-out side, so the letter receives a clockwise moment in FIG. 12 and rotates, and the partition plate 207 collides with the downstream end on the take-out side of the letter. The letter bounced by the partition plate 207 rotates counterclockwise in FIG. 12 and stops. At this time, the alignment in the width direction is equal to or less than the value e, which makes it easy to take out a letter.

As L3 becomes smaller than f1 in FIG. 11, the letter pressing position becomes closer to the end of the letter on the base frame 206 side as shown in FIG. 12B, and the rotational moment received by the letter increases. The angle of clockwise rotation in FIG. 12 increases. As a result, the upstream side of the letter jumps out to the take-out side, so that the letter alignment is deteriorated.

On the contrary, as L3 becomes larger than f2 in FIG. 11, the letter pressing position becomes closer to the letter take-out side as shown in FIG. 12C, and the letter has a counterclockwise moment in FIG. Upon receiving and rotating, the downstream end on the base frame side collides with the partition plate 207. The letter bounced off by the partition plate 207 rotates clockwise in FIG. 12 and stops. As a result, the upstream side of the letter jumps out to the take-out side, so that the letter alignment becomes poor.

In the case of FIGS. 12B and 12C,
If there is a large amount of letters that pop out on the upstream side of the letter, letters may be lost from the bins, or letters may be lost from the bins due to the imbalance of the letters that have accumulated. Considering the ease of grasping the letter when taking out the letter and preventing the letter from being lost, the pressing point position L3 is preferably between f1 and f2 shown in FIG. Desirably L3
Should be set to f3 which provides the best alignment. Since this position is a position for guiding the vicinity of the center of gravity of a letter to be put in the sorting shelf, it is also prevented that the letter to be put in the sorting shelf is rotated about the guide means as an axis. As a result, the letter collection form is adjusted, and the operator can easily grasp the letter collection, thus improving work efficiency.
The work time can be shortened and letters can be prevented from popping out and falling off from the divided shelves, so that letters can be prevented from being lost.

Therefore, L3 is determined so that the pressing point is located deeper than the center line in the conveying direction of the narrowest letter among the letters handled by this paper sheet stacking apparatus.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the lower limit of L1 is determined by the letter having the lowest rigidity among the letters handled by this paper sheet stacking device and the shortest letter among the letters handling the upper limit of L1. And the letter having the highest rigidity among the letters handling L2 and the letter having the smallest rigidity among the letters handling L3, the decision is made based on the letter having the smallest width among the letters handling L3.
It is possible to reduce wasteful space when there is a folded portion in the middle while fully accumulating the letters to be handled by the paper sheet accumulating device, while it is full. That is, if the waste of the upper space is simply reduced by bending, as described above, there is a problem that the letters are not properly collected. By setting the above values, both problems can be solved at once. effective.

[0060]

According to the present invention, it is possible to provide a low-cost paper sheet stacking apparatus which can reduce the size of the stacking apparatus as a whole without reducing the stacking capacity and which does not require the vertical movement of the stacking table.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a paper sheet processing apparatus to which the present invention is applied.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an embodiment of a paper sheet stacking device of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view of guide means according to the embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a front view of an embodiment of a paper sheet stacking device of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is an explanatory view of rib-shaped guide means.

FIG. 6 is an explanatory view of rib-shaped guide means.

FIG. 7 is an explanatory diagram of a landing position when letters are accumulated.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of behavior when letters are accumulated.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory view of the bent shape of the guide means.

FIG. 10 is a top view of an embodiment of the paper sheet stacking device of the present invention.

FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram of a pressing point position of the guide means.

FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram of a stacking state of letters.

[Explanation of symbols]

13 ......... Divided shelf, 201 ... Guide means (stack guide), 301 ... Rib, 302 ... Bent portion, 310 ...
Base 311 ... arms.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Junichi Oizumi 502 Jinritsucho, Tsuchiura-shi, Ibaraki Machinery Research Institute, Hiritsu Seisakusho Co., Ltd. Factory Office Systems Division (72) Inventor ▲ Takahashi Toru Ikegami No. 1 Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Stock Company Hitachi Office Systems Division (72) Inventor Tsuyoshi Kawai No. 1 Ikegami Haruka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Hitachi Systems Office Systems Division

Claims (2)

[Claims] 1. A conveying means for conveying paper sheets, a plurality of accumulating means for accumulating the paper sheets, and guiding the paper sheets from the conveying means to a predetermined accumulating means based on the information of the paper sheets. Gate means and a holding means in the stacking means, which is rotatably held coaxially with the gate means, and is stacked on a stacking surface of a stacking table or a stacking table on which the sheets are stacked. And a guide means for guiding the paper sheets to the upper surface of the paper sheets, and the contact height between the guide means and the paper sheets in the stacking means changes according to the stacking amount of the paper sheets. In the paper sheet stacking device including a stacking table, the guide means includes a straight line connecting a rotation center of the holding means and a point at which the guide means contacts the stacking surface of the paper sheets. The guide surface side has a convex bent portion, and this convex bent portion is An arcuate trajectory drawn according to the product amount, configured paper sheet stacking apparatus so that the surface formed by extending the sheet guide surface intersects the gate means. 2. A conveying means for conveying the paper sheets, a plurality of accumulating means for accumulating the paper sheets, and guiding the paper sheets from the conveying means to a predetermined accumulating means based on the information of the paper sheets. Gate means and a holding means in the stacking means, which is rotatably held coaxially with the gate means, and is stacked on a stacking surface of a stacking table or a stacking table on which the sheets are stacked. And a guide means for guiding the paper sheets to the upper surface of the paper sheets, and the contact height between the guide means and the paper sheets in the stacking means changes according to the stacking amount of the paper sheets. In the paper sheet stacking device including a stacking table, the guide means is configured to draw the paper sheet from a straight line connecting the rotation center of the holding means and the point where the guide means contacts the stacking surface of the paper sheet. It has a convex bent portion on the guide surface side, and is most suitable for the holding means of the guide means. Between the convex bending portion and the holding means, there is a guide surface for continuously guiding the paper sheets from the gate means, and the gate means is provided from a state where the paper sheets are not accumulated on the stacking table. The guide surface of the gate means and the guide surface of the guide means guide the paper sheets up to the accumulation amount of the paper sheets in which the guide surface of the guide means and the guide surface of the guide means are parallel, and the guide surfaces are parallel to each other. The paper sheet stacking device configured to guide the paper sheet by the gate means when the paper sheet stacking amount is larger than the stacking amount.