JPH11130286A - Sheet feeding device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To securely feed stacked sheets to a delivery port one by one from the lowermost one. SOLUTION: A lowermost stacked sheet A is fed by a feeding roller 32. The top end of the lowermost sheet A1 is allowed to abut to a front end inclined part 41, bent forward downward, and separated from a second sheet A2. Also the top end of the lowermost sheet A1 is allowed to abut to a guide plate 44, bent forward upward, and leads to a delivery port 50 along the guide plate 44. The second sheet A2 is stopped from advancing by a stopper 45 positioned at a specified interval above the guide plate 44. After the lowermost sheet A1 has been fed, the feeding roller 32 can be rotated reversely so as to return-feed the second sheet A2 stopped from advancing by the stopper 45 to a feeding start position.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device for a sheet vending machine such as a card, a seal or a thin card holder made of plastic or the like. The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device capable of performing the following.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various methods have been provided as a method of sending the lowest loaded work to a take-out port in a vending machine or the like. For example, if the work has a certain thickness, such as a cigarette box,
It is possible to push out only the lowest order.

However, when the work is a sheet, such as a card or a sticker, it is difficult to push out only the lowest one. Therefore, when feeding out the lowest one of the stacked sheets, a roller positioned so as to be in contact with the lower surface of the lowest sheet is rotated. Here, a problem that has conventionally been encountered is that the second sheet from the bottom is sent to the takeout port together with the lowest sheet due to friction with the lowest sheet or adhesion due to static electricity. Was.

Conventional techniques for preventing such a situation include Japanese Patent No. 2540609 and Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-9864. In each of these, a partition which is vertical to a predetermined height and which is inclined downward and forward and downward is provided in front of the sheet in the traveling direction. More specifically, the lowermost sheet abuts on the inclined portion of the screen when being fed, and bends forward and downward. However, the second sheet from the bottom comes into contact with the boundary where the screen starts to incline, and its progress is prevented. Therefore, both sheets are easily separated.

[0005] These prior arts are effective for a sheet having a certain thickness. However, it is difficult to adjust the height of the inclined portion with a thin paper-like sheet, and in the end, it is assumed that both the lowest sheet and the second sheet from the bottom come into contact with the inclined portion and two sheets are sent out at the same time. . Further, even if the lower two sheets are successfully separated, there are the following problems. That is, when the roller starts rotating, slippage may occur between the roller and the sheet before the feeding actually starts. In such a case, it is conceivable that the sheet does not reach the take-out port only by rotating the roller by the length of the sheet. In addition, if the sheet is not completely fed, the front part of the sheet protrudes from the take-out port, but if the rear part of the sheet is still caught in the rollers, it is difficult to take out the sheet or the sheet may be forcibly pulled and damaged. It is also assumed that it will be done.

In order to prevent such a problem, in a method of feeding by rotation of a roller, it is usual to rotate the roller slightly (a) more than the length (L) of the sheet. That is, the roller rotates by the distance L + a every time. However, in this case, when the roller feeds out the sheet without slipping, the next sheet moves by the distance a toward the takeout port after the lowest sheet is completely fed.

Therefore, the next sheet is completely fed out if it moves by the distance La, so that the next sheet moves in the direction of the take-out port by the distance 2a. In this way, the feeding distance accumulates to the next distance 3a, and finally, two rollers may be fed one after another by one rotation of the roller.

[0008]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for feeding a sheet by using a roller, and has the following objects to solve the above-mentioned problems. That is, the first aspect of the present invention aims to prevent the second sheet from being fed by the stopper.

In addition, the invention according to claim 2 aims at completely feeding the sheet from the roller by adjusting the feeding distance of the sheet, in addition to the object of the invention according to claim 1. Further, in the invention according to claim 3, in addition to the object of the invention according to claim 1 or 2, after feeding the lowermost sheet, the roller for feeding the sheet is reversely rotated so that the second sheet is fed to the sheet. By repeating sending back to the storage unit every time and always keeping the sheet sending start position constant, the sheets stacked above the lowest
The purpose of this is to prevent one after another from being sent out.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the invention according to claim 1 of the present invention is directed to the lowest sheet among sheets stacked in a sheet storage portion inside a housing. By the rotation of the roller, in a sheet feeding device that feeds to a front take-out port, while supporting the first half in the feeding direction of the sheets stacked in the sheet storage unit,
A feed roller for sending the lowest sheet forward,
A sheet receiver that supports the latter half of the stacked sheet in the sending direction, a front inclined portion that is located in front of the lowermost sheet in the sending direction, and is inclined forward and downward, and from near a lower end of a lower end of the front inclined portion, A guide plate leading to the outlet,
A sheet feeding device provided with a stopper located above the guide plate so as to have a gap between the guide plate and the guide plate, wherein a lower end of the front inclined portion has an upper end of the sheet receiver and an upper end of the feed roller. The distance between the lower end of the front inclined portion and the guide plate is set to be at least twice the thickness of the sheet, the upper end of the delivery roller, and the lower end of the front inclined portion. The straight line passing through
Intersects with the guide plate in front of the lower end of the front inclined portion,
The stopper is located forward of the intersection, and the interval between the guide plate and the stopper is set to be equal to or more than the thickness of one sheet and less than the thickness of two sheets.

[0011] The term "sheet" refers to a product formed in a sheet shape, such as a card, a sticker or a calendar holder, which can be stacked horizontally. Further, since the sheet is bent during the feeding process as described later, the sheet needs to be formed of a flexible material. “Sheet storage unit” refers to a structure capable of storing sheets in a stacked state.

The "feeding roller" is a roller connected to a driving mechanism for feeding a sheet to an outlet. It also has a role of supporting the first half of the weight of the sheets stacked in the sheet storage unit. The "front inclined portion" is a portion where the front edge thereof comes into contact when the sheets stacked in the sheet storage portion are sent out, and is inclined forward and downward. When the sheet is further fed in this state, the front edge of the sheet is bent forward and downward along the front inclined portion.

The "guide plate" has a structure for guiding the sheet fed by the feed roller to a take-out port. The rear end of the guide plate is located below the lower end of the front inclined portion. Further, the distance between the rear end of the guide plate and the lower end of the front inclined portion is at least twice the thickness of the sheet. The "stopper" is a plate-shaped structure located forward of a position where the guide plate and the sheet first come into contact with each other and above the guide plate so as to have a predetermined gap between the guide plate and the sheet. The gap between the lower edge of the stopper and the guide plate is equal to or longer than the thickness of one sheet and less than the thickness of two sheets.

Next, the operation of the present invention will be described. First, the lowest sheet among the sheets stacked in the sheet storage unit is sent out toward the takeout port by rotation of the sending roller. At this time, the lowermost sheet abuts on the front inclined portion and bends downward with the feed roller as a fulcrum. As a result, the lowermost sheet is separated from the sheet located thereon.

When the sheet is further fed forward, the upper surface of the sheet advances while contacting the front inclined portion. The leading end of the sheet contacts the guide plate below the lower end of the front inclined portion. In this contact portion, a straight line passing through the upper end of the delivery roller and the lower end of the front inclined portion is located in front of the lower end of the front inclined portion and intersects with the guide plate or slightly behind the same. It will be.

Here, since the lower end of the front inclined portion is located below a straight line passing through the upper end of the sheet receiver and the upper end of the feed roller, the sheet is supported by the lower end of the front inclined portion. To bend upward. Thereafter, the lower surface of the sheet moves toward the takeout port along the guide plate. That is, the sheet is bent at two points before reaching the takeout opening.

Further, the distance between the lower end of the front inclined portion and the guide plate is set to an interval through which only one sheet can pass, and at this portion, the feeding of the second sheet from the bottom can be prevented. However, in this case, it is assumed that the sheet is likely to be clogged or bent. Therefore, this portion is set at an interval through which two sheets can pass, and the feeding of the second sheet is prevented by a stopper near the take-out port.

That is, by setting the distance between the lower edge of the stopper and the guide plate to be equal to or more than the thickness of one sheet and less than the thickness of two sheets, only one sheet can be passed.
The first sheet is brought into contact with this stopper so that it cannot be advanced any further. In addition, when the lowest sheet sent out is taken out, the second sheet, which has been prevented from moving forward by the stopper, comes into contact with the guide plate by its own elasticity, so that the next sheet can be easily sent out. It becomes.

In the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet feeding distance is not limited. However, as in the second aspect of the present invention, the length of the sheets in the front-rear direction is L ₁ and the sheets are stacked from the stopper. The distance to the leading edge of the lowest sheet
When the L _2, the feed distance of the sheet by the feed roller, can also be L ₁ + L ₂ or more. The “feeding distance” refers to the distance the outer periphery of the feeding roller rotates when feeding one sheet.

Since a slip may occur between the sheet and the feed roller, the feed distance of the sheet is as follows.
It was be longer than the L _1. Here, the distance that extra feeding, distance to the next sheet reaches the stop, i.e. it is sufficient if the L _2. Furthermore, this
Even slight sending a distance greater than L _2, the sheet is prevented from advancing by the stopper, feed roller so that the idles. Therefore, the sheet feeding start position does not come before the stopper.

According to the first or second aspect of the present invention, the advance of the second sheet is stopped by the stopper. However, as in the third aspect of the present invention, from the stopper to the leading edge of the lowermost stacked sheet. when the distance was set to L _2, delivery after feeding the lowermost sheet by the rollers, it may be provided with the next sheet, feeding a mechanism to send L ₂ or by the reverse rotation of the rollers.

[0022] That is, after the lowermost sheet has been completely fed out, but the next sheet is to be fed only maximize L _2, is not sent back in the reverse rotation of the roller feed this minute. Distance sent back at this time, although sufficient if L _2, even slightly longer distance than L _2, the sheet is in contact with the rear end of the receiving sheet, any more, so that the roller runs idle.

This feeding back is performed by reversing the driving mechanism connected to the feeding roller. By being formed in this way, it is possible to start feeding the sheet from the same position every time.

[0024]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. In the following description, the direction in which the sheet is fed out, that is, the left side in the drawing will be described as the front. 1 to 4 show a cross-sectional view in the front-rear direction of a sheet feeding device according to a first embodiment of the present invention and the operation thereof.

In each of the drawings, a sheet feeding device according to the present invention includes a sheet storage section 2 fixed inside a casing 10.
0, a sheet feeding section 30 located below the sheet feeding section 30, and a sheet regulating section 40 located in front of the sheet feeding section 30. Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail. The sheet A that can be used in the sheet feeding device according to the present invention needs to be formed of a flexible material because the sheet A is bent at two points in the feeding process as described later.

The sheet storage section 20 is formed in a box shape and stores the sheets A in a stacked state. Front 2 of seat storage section 20
The distance between 1 and the rear surface 22 is substantially equal to the length of the sheet A in the front-rear direction. The distance between the side surfaces (not shown) of the sheet storage unit 20 is substantially equal to the length of the sheet A in the left-right direction. In addition, even if this sheet storage part 20 is not a box shape,
The frame may be shaped so that the four corners of the sheet can be positioned.

The bottom surface of the sheet storage section 20 is open in the first half. Then, the rear half of the bottom surface is
Thus, the latter half of the weight of the stacked sheets A is supported. The sheet feed unit 30 includes a feed roller shaft 31 rotatably provided on the housing 10 and a feed roller 3 provided therearound, in parallel with the left-right direction of the sheet A.
2 and a drive mechanism (not shown). The feed roller 32 is located at a portion of the sheet storage unit 20 where the bottom surface is open, and the sheet A stacked in the sheet storage unit 20 is
Supports the first half of the weight. Delivery roller shaft 31
Is directly connected to a motor as a driving mechanism, or provided with a rotating member such as a motor driving gear or a sprocket as necessary (not shown).

The sheet regulating portion 40 includes a front inclined portion 41 located forward of the sheet A in the feeding direction, and the front inclined portion 4.
1, a guide plate 44 for connecting from the lower side of the sheet control portion 40 to a take-out opening 50 located in front of the sheet regulating portion 40, and a stopper 45 located above the guide plate 44 with a predetermined gap between the guide plate 44 and the guide plate 44. Consists of Hereinafter, each part will be described in detail.

The front inclined portion 41 is provided with the sheet storage portion 20.
The lower edge of the front surface 21 is an extended portion. More specifically, the lower edge of the front surface 21 extends below a straight line passing through the upper end of the sheet receiver 23 and the upper end of the feed roller 32. First, the extended portion is bent forward and downward near the intersection with the straight line to form the front inclined portion 41. Next, it is bent forward and upward at the lower front end 42 thereof, and turned back 43
It has become.

The rear end of the guide plate 44 is located below the front lower end 42. The stopper 45 is located above the guide plate 44 and forward of the return portion 43, perpendicular to the traveling direction of the sheet A, and at a predetermined interval from the guide plate 44. This interval is equal to or greater than the thickness of one sheet and less than the thickness of two sheets. The distance between the front lower end 42 and the guide plate 60 is equal to or greater than the thickness of two sheets.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. First, many sheets A
Are vertically stacked in the sheet storage unit 20. The first half of the lowermost sheet A1 rests on the feed roller 32. On the other hand, the latter half rests on the sheet receiver 23. This is the state shown in FIG. When the feed roller 32 rotates in the feed direction, that is, counterclockwise in the drawing, the lowermost sheet A1 is fed forward. At this time, the front end of the sheet A1 hits the front inclined portion 41, and the sheet A1 curves downward with the upper end of the feed roller 32 as a fulcrum.

As the sheet A1 bends downward as described above, the sheet A2 is separated from the sheet A2 that is in contact therewith.
When sent further forward, the front end hits the guide plate 44 and bends along the guide plate 44 with the front lower end 42 as a fulcrum. Here, since the front lower end 42 is bent forward and upward to form the return portion 43 without being cut off, it is possible to prevent the upper surface of the sheet A from rubbing against the front lower end 42 and being damaged.

When the sheet A1 is further fed forward, the leading end passes through the gap between the guide plate 44 and the stopper 45 to reach the take-out port 50. This state is the state shown in FIG. When the sheet A1 is further fed forward, the leading end passes through the outlet 50 and projects forward of the outlet 50. On the other hand, the rear end also leaves the delivery roller 32 and reaches the guide plate 44.

Here, the rotation of the delivery roller 32 can be stopped. However, slippage may occur between the delivery roller 32 and the sheet A during the delivery process. Therefore, in order to completely feed the sheet A, the feeding distance is slightly longer than the length of the sheet A in the front-rear direction. Therefore, when no slippage occurs between the feed roller 32 and the sheet A, the feed roller 32 may continue to rotate even after the lowermost sheet A1 is completely fed.

At this time, the first half of the sheet A2 to be fed next comes into contact with the feed roller 32, is fed forward by the feed roller 32, and reaches the guide surface 42. However, the tip is blocked by the stopper 45 and cannot move forward any further. Because stopper 4
This is because the interval between 5 and the guide surface 42 is less than two sheets.

Here, the delivery roller 32 stops rotating. This state is the state shown in FIG. When the state shown in FIG. 3 is reached, next, the lowermost sheet A1 is taken out by grasping the portion protruding from the takeout opening 50. After the lowermost sheet A1 is taken out, the lower surface of the first half of the next sheet A2, which has been prevented from advancing by the stopper 45, comes into contact with the guide plate 44 by elasticity. This state is the state shown in FIG.

Therefore, the next sheet A2 starts to be fed out from the stopper 45 as shown in FIG. However, even if such feeding is repeated, the sheet to be fed next does not advance forward from the stopper 45 for the above-described reason. Therefore, accumulation of the feeding distance due to the extra rotation of the feeding roller 32 can be prevented.

That is, in the sheet feeding device according to the present embodiment, the stopper 45 can prevent the second sheet A2 from being fed following the feeding of the lowermost sheet A1. Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIG.

The structure of the sheet feeding device according to the present embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the feeding roller 32 is rotatable in a direction opposite to the sheet feeding direction. That is, the drive mechanism connected to the feed roller shaft 31 can rotate forward and reverse. Next, the operation of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3 and FIG. However, the operation up to FIG. 3 is the same as that of the first embodiment, so that the description is omitted and the description starts from FIG.

When the state shown in FIG. 3 is reached, the sheet A1 is taken out by grasping the portion protruding from the take-out port 50. However, since the rear end portion of the sheet A1 is pressed downward against the front end portion of the next sheet A2 and the frictional force is increased, it may be difficult to remove the sheet A1. Then, the delivery roller 32 is rotated in the reverse direction, clockwise in the drawing, and the delivery roller 3 is rotated.
If the portion sent forward from the upper end of 2 is sent back, it becomes easier to take out the sheet A1 protruding from the take-out port 50. Also, the front end of the next sheet A2 is
It will return to the position before it was sent again. This state is the state shown in FIG.

That is, in the sheet feeder according to the present embodiment, the second sheet A2 is fed back by the reverse rotation of the feed roller 32, so that the sheet A1 can be easily taken out, and the sheet A start feeding position. Can always be kept in a fixed position.
The material of the delivery roller 32 is sheet A
Rubber and plastic are suitable for increasing the coefficient of friction and preventing slip, but they can also be formed of a metal having a rough surface.

When the number of loaded sheets decreases, it is conceivable that the weight of the feed roller becomes insufficient and the feed roller runs idle. Therefore, in order to prevent such a situation, a weight can be provided on the stacked sheets. Further, the sheet receiver 23 may be replaced with a roller similar to the feed roller 32 without forming the sheet A in a plate shape horizontal. As long as this roller can rotate with the movement of the sheet A, a driving mechanism such as the feed roller 32 is not particularly required.

When the rigidity of the sheet A is low, it is conceivable that the rear half of the sheet A may hang down between the feed roller 32 and the sheet receiver 23 during the feeding process. In such a case, another roller may be provided between the feed roller 32 and the sheet receiver 23. However, the roller only needs to be rotatable as the sheet advances, and need not be particularly connected to the drive mechanism.

It has been confirmed that when a groove such as a feed screw is provided on the surface of the feed roller 32, the feed can be reliably performed without slippage.

[0045]

Since the present invention is configured as described above, it has the following effects. That is, according to the first aspect of the present invention, it is possible to feed only the lowest sheet to the take-out port and prevent the second sheet from being fed by the stopper.

According to the second aspect of the invention, in addition to the effects of the first aspect, the sheet can be completely fed from the feed roller. Further, claim 3
According to the invention described above, in addition to the effects of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, in addition to facilitating removal of the sheet from the take-out port, the sheet feeding start position is always fixed, and the sheet is stacked above the lowermost position. It is possible to prevent the fed sheets from being successively sent out.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front-rear sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention and its operation.

FIG. 2 is a front-rear sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention and its operation.

FIG. 3 is a front-rear sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention and the operation thereof.

FIG. 4 is a front-rear cross-sectional view illustrating an embodiment of the present invention and the operation thereof.

FIG. 5 is a front-rear sectional view showing another embodiment of the present invention and its operation.

[Explanation of symbols]

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 10 housing 20 sheet storage unit 21 front surface 22 rear surface 23 sheet receiver 30 sheet feed unit 31 feed roller shaft 32 feed roller 40 sheet regulating unit 41 front inclined unit 42 front lower end 43 return unit 44 guide plate 45 stopper 50 takeout port A sheet A1 Lowest sheet A2 Second sheet from bottom A3 3 from bottom
The second sheet

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding device for feeding a lowermost sheet among sheets stacked in a sheet storage section inside a housing to a front take-out port by rotation of a roller, wherein the sheet stacked in the sheet storage section is provided. A feed roller that feeds the lowermost sheet forward while supporting the first half of the feed direction, a sheet receiver that supports the latter half of the stacked sheet in the feed direction, and a feed roller that is positioned forward in the feed direction of the lowest sheet. A front inclined portion inclined forward and downward; a guide plate extending from near a lower portion of a lower end of the front inclined portion to an outlet; and a position above the guide plate so as to have a gap between the guide plate. A sheet feeder provided with a stopper that performs a straight operation, wherein a lower end of the front inclined portion passes through an upper end of the sheet receiver and an upper end of the feed roller. The distance between the lower end of the front inclined portion and the guide plate is at least twice the thickness of the sheet, and a straight line passing through the upper end of the delivery roller and the lower end of the front inclined portion is The guide plate intersects the guide plate in front of the lower end of the front inclined portion, and the stopper is located forward of the intersection, and the interval between the guide plate and the stopper is equal to or greater than the thickness of one sheet. And a sheet feeding device having a thickness less than two sheets. When the length of the sheet in the front-rear direction is L ₁ and the distance from the stopper to the leading edge of the lowermost stacked sheet is L ₂ , the feeding distance of the sheet by the feeding roller is L _{1. 2.} The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the value is + L2 or more. From wherein the stopper, when the distance to the sheet front edge of the stacked bottom was L _2, after feeding the lowermost sheet by feeding rollers, the next sheet, the reverse rotation of the feed roller The sheet feeding device according to claim 1, further comprising a mechanism for feeding back L ₂ or more according to the value.