JPS5916579A - Automatic sorter for mail document - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an automatic postal letter sorting device for sorting postal letters such as postcards and sealed letters.

Conventionally, at centralized stations, postal letters accepted through internal stations, local office counters, mailboxes, etc., as well as postal letters arriving from external stations, are automatically read and sorted by sorting machines and sorted by each area. Letters are sorted and accumulated in boxes, and a group of letters is supplied as a bundle.

However, these sorted and accumulated letters are manually removed from each sorting box, then paper bills from the garden area are added to them, and then sorted by a sorting machine.
Problems arise that require a great deal of effort.

Therefore, recently, a sorting device has been developed which automatically bundles a group of letters as a bundle.

According to this device, paper bills, etc. of the garden area are added to the group of letters that have already been sorted and accumulated, and these are conveyed to the bundler via a conveyance mechanism, where they are automatically bundled. .

By the way, the bundled letters are stuffed into various mailbags and sorted into mailbags, and are then sorted, so there is a risk that the bundled letters, which have a small number of copies, may slip out of the bundle. Problems arise and it is extremely troublesome to sort them out.

Therefore, according to the domestic postal law, groups of letters with a number of less than 10 are called zozabundi (groups of letters with a number of less than 10 are bundled together).

).

However, in order to form this group of letters as a rough bundle and then bundle it, an extremely complicated bundler is required.
For reasons such as economy, fewer than 10 letters were artificially taken out from the conveyance mechanism and stacked on top of each other to form a group of letters as a rough bundle. For this reason, although it is automatic, it has poor time processing ability and requires a lot of labor, so a simple structure was adopted in which letters with a number of less than 10 were stacked one after another. The reality is that a sorting device is in demand.

This invention was made in view of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to use a simple structure to select a group of letters having fewer than 10 letters and automatically stack them one after another to create a stacked state as a miscellaneous classification. It is an object of the present invention to provide an automatic postal letter sorting device which is capable of efficiently sorting a group of letters by forming a mailbox and sorting a group of letters efficiently, thereby eliminating the deterioration caused by miscellaneous sorting and accumulation.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

1 in Figure 1 is the main body of the automatic sorting device, and the front left iFl of this main body 1! Postal letter (hereinafter referred to as letter) A.
A supply section 2 including a take-out section 2a for supplying... is provided. The supply section 2 is provided with a main conveyance path 3 that extends rightward from the supply section 2 as a base end. The letters A... taken out are conveyed in sequence. Note that 4 is a reading device that reads the postal code written on the letter A.

In addition, there are many compartmentalized pockets 5 on the front right side of the main body 1.
The groups are arranged in multiple stages and constitute the accumulation section 6. And, these divided pockets 5...groups of each stage are as follows:
Each branch conveyance path 3a branched from the extending end of the main conveyance path 3.
... are facing each other. In addition, 7... carries the letter A... conveyed along the main conveyance path 3 to each branch conveyance path 3.
8 is the first case that leads to the respective branch conveyance paths 3a..., and the letter A... that has reached each branch conveyance path 3a... is placed in a predetermined sorting pocket 5 corresponding to each postal code. This is the second dart that leads to ・.

The reading and sorting machine 9 is constituted by each of these structural parts. In addition, for the letter group A divided into each divided pocket 5..., the take-out member 10 made of a transparent plate disposed on the front side of each divided pocket 5... is full switch. (not shown) is turned on, or in response to an end signal of a predetermined processing lot, etc.
The receiver is automatically moved rearward from the inside and passed to a transport mechanism 11 provided on the back side of the stacking section 6.

Next, to explain this conveyance mechanism 1, numeral 12 in the figure is a take-out belt with a frame, and this belt 12 is arranged in multiple stages corresponding to groups of sorted pockets 5 in each stage, and each Sectional pocket 5... letter A received from inside
... are conveyed to the right of the main body 1 as they are. And these frame-equipped take-out belts 12
At the end of the conveyance, these frame-equipped take-out belts 12 and
A delivery conveyor 13 is stretched over the area so as to be perpendicular to the letter A.
・Transfer conveyor 1 installed at the lower end to sequentially take out the items
The uke is supposed to be passed to the 4th.

This transfer conveyor 14 has a large number of frames 14 &...
The transfer conveyor 13 is arranged at a position perpendicular to the delivery conveyor 13. Then, the letters A, which have reached each frame 14m, are stopped and moved one after another, and are intermittently conveyed to the right side of the main body 1.

Then, on the conveyance path 29 of the transfer conveyor 14 of the conveyance mechanism 1 configured in this way, a reject device 15, a garden information applying device 16 that applies a garden information card B, and a bundling device d1v are installed from the base end side, respectively. will be placed. The glue ejecting device 15 is shown in FIGS. 2 and 3.

To explain this reject device 15, 16 in the figure
1 is a collection box having a glass plate 16a serving as a guide on the front side, and an opening is provided on the back side of this collection box 16. The stacking box 16 is provided with the upper opening facing the side of the transfer conveyor 14, and a mounting plate 17 is disposed inside thereof so as to be movable up and down. Further, in the area facing the opening in the collection box 16, a guide roller 17m is rotatably provided at the center of the turret, and a pulse motor 19 having a roller 18 on the output shaft is provided at the bottom to drive the guide roller 17m. It constitutes a mechanism 28. The belt 2 is then passed between the guide roller 17a and the roller 18.
0 is wrapped. A V-shaped support 21 is attached to the belt 20 in a cantilevered manner on the outer peripheral surface facing inward, and the above-mentioned mounting plate 17 is attached to the free end of this support 21.
has been investigated. That is, the mounting plate 17 is configured to move up and down in response to the forward and reverse rotational drive of the i4 rus motor 19.

Further, in the figure, reference numeral 22 denotes a letter moving device, which is composed of an operating rod 23 having a suppressing surface portion 23a at its tip and a drive motor 24 for moving the operating rod 23 forward and backward along the axial direction.

This letter moving device 22 is arranged so as to sandwich the transfer belt 14 corresponding to the upper opening of the stacking box 16.
4, and the pressing surface portion 23th is placed on the side of the frame 1.
It faces the opening upper part of the collection box 16 via 4a. Then, the transfer conveyor 1 is placed in the operating area of this letter moving device 22.
Letter A of less than 10 pieces transported by 4...
When this is reached, the drive motor 24 is activated to move the operating rod 23 forward to push out the letter A in the frame 14n from the frame 14a using the pressing surface portion 23h and place it on the mounting plate 17. ing.

Further, in the figure, reference numeral 25 denotes a detection mechanism for controlling the pulse motor 19, which is composed of a light emitting element 26 and a light receiving element 27, which are provided on both sides of the upper part of the collection box 16 in correspondence with each other. The detection portion 25a is set at a position slightly lower than the bottom surface of the frame 14a.

The letters A accumulated on the mounting plate 17'' or the upper surface of the mounting plate 17 are optically detected at this detection portion 25a.

That is, when the letter A... is placed on the placement plate 17 by the letter moving device 22, the detection portion 25b is shielded and a "dark" detection signal is input to the pulse motor 19.

Then, based on this input signal, the pulse motor 19 is controlled to rotate five times in the reverse direction (counterclockwise) to lower the mounting plate 17.

Subsequently, when the detection part 25a is opened again and a "bright" detection signal is input to the pulse motor 19, the i9 pulse motor 19 is driven and controlled in the forward rotation direction (clockwise) based on this input signal, and the loading is performed. Raise the plate 17 and read the letter A again.
... by shielding the detection part 25g with the upper surface part, and then keeping the mounting plate 17 stationary at a state position where the detection part 25m is opened based on this second detection signal, so that the detection part 25g is always kept on the mounting plate 17. The top surface or mounting plate 17 of letter A...
The upper surface of is controlled to be positioned above the detection part 25a.

Therefore, when sorting the letters A in the supply section 2 using the sorting device configured in this way, the letters A in the supply section 2
... are taken out one by one by the take-out section 2a, the postal code is read by the reading device 4, and the sheets are conveyed one by one along the main conveyance path 3. Then, based on the information read by the reading device 4, the first cage door... is selected, and then the second dart 8... is selected, and each letter A... is transferred to the main conveyance path 3. From each branch conveyance path 3a...
Then, the items are automatically segmented and accumulated in the sorting pockets 5 corresponding to predetermined postal codes designated in advance based on the sorting designation program.

After that, when a predetermined processing lot is completed, based on the end signal, the letter group A in each sorting pocket 5...
The receiver is automatically passed onto each frame-equipped take-out belt 12 and conveyed along the right direction, and then transferred to the delivery conveyor 1.
At 3, the blind groups A... are sequentially conveyed downward and reach the transfer conveyor 14. Then, according to the classification designation in advance, there are 10 or more copies, and the fcs-like group A...
・ are conveyed to the right through the reject accumulation section 15, and a garden information card B is added to the top surface of each letter group A by the garden information adding device 16, and then a garden information card B is added to the top surface of each letter group A. A bundling device 17 automatically bundles each garden area in sequence.

On the other hand, the letter group A, which is known in advance to have fewer than 10 letters based on the classification designation program, is rejected by the suppressing surface portion 23a when the letter group A is stopped above the actuation area of the reject device 15.
moves forward, is pushed out from the frame 14&, and is accumulated on the mounting plate 17 located at a predetermined position. In addition, the accumulated letters group A
... are guided by the glass plate 16a or the like, so that they are stacked in good alignment. Then, the detection device 25 is activated in accordance with this accumulation, and the pulse motor 19 is driven so that the upper surface of the letter group A on the mounting plate 17 is positioned above the detection area 25a. Then, in the same way, the next letter group A of less than 10 letters is stacked and stacked one after another in a certain direction on the accumulated letter group A by the letter moving device 22. nru.

Such steps are repeated one after another, and the letter groups A of less than 10:a are automatically stacked in the collection box 16 and collected into miscellaneous categories.

In this way, the letter moving mechanism 22. Collection box 16. A reject device 15 consisting of a detection mechanism 25 and a drive mechanism 28 is provided to select a letter group A formed of a small number of letters from the letter group A conveyed to the conveyance path 29. Since the layers are sequentially stacked in the stacking box 16 in the same stacked state, a small number of 1-like group A... can be stacked in the stacking box 16 with a simple configuration without requiring any human labor. Even the ox that maintains its condition is collected in miscellaneous categories.

Therefore, it is possible to reduce the labor required for miscellaneous classification and accumulation, which has conventionally been performed manually, and it is possible to efficiently classify a group of letters.

Therefore, the operating rate of the classification can be improved, and the effect is significant.

As explained above, according to the present invention, a letter moving mechanism, a collection box, a detection mechanism, and a drive mechanism are provided on the conveyance path leading to the bundle sorting of stacked letters as a bundle fed by the reading and sorting machine. A reject device consisting of is installed to select a group of letters formed by a small number of letters from among the group of letters conveyed on the conveyance path and stack them in a stacked state in a stacked state in sequence on a stacking ellipse. Therefore, a small number of letters are automatically and miscellaneously accumulated in the accumulation box while maintaining the stacked state with a simple configuration and without requiring any human labor.

Therefore, the labor required for miscellaneous sorting and accumulation, which has conventionally been done manually, can be reduced to labor, and letters can be efficiently sorted.

Therefore, the operating rate of the classification can be improved, and the effect is significant.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show one embodiment of the present invention, in which Fig. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an automatic sorting device, Fig. 2 is a partial perspective view showing its reject device, and Fig. 3 is taken along the lines ■ to ■ in Fig. 2. FIG. A... Letter group, 9... Reading 1 sorter, 15... Reject device, 16... Collection box, 17... Placement plate,
22... Concurrent movement mechanism, 25... Detection mechanism, 28.
... Drive mechanism, 29... Conveyance path. Applicant's agent Patent attorney Suzue Takehiko 1o1 φ
8. Furnace, - also Commissioner of the Japan Patent Office Kazuo Wakasugi 1, Indication of the case, Patent Application No. 117458/1983, 2, Name of the invention, Paper sheet merging device 3, Person making the amendment, Relationship with the case, Patent applicant ( 307) Tokyo Shibaura Electric Co., Ltd. 4, Agent 5, Voluntary Amendment 7, Contents of Amendment (2) The scope of claims in the specification is corrected as shown in the attached sheet. (3) Similarly, page 2, lines 8-9 [This invention...
Regarding... 1. This invention relates to a paper merging device for merging paper sheets such as postal letters into a stack. ” he corrected. (4) Similarly, from page 2, line 8 to page 4, line 14, it says, "This invention is..." (1) This invention is for example a stacked state of paper sheets such as postal letters. This invention relates to a merging device for filtered paper sheets. Normally, at a central office, a sorting machine automatically reads and sorts postal letters received through the internal office, the office's own counter, mailbox, etc., as well as postal letters that arrive from an external office. After sorting and accumulating in sorting boxes, they are bundled. Therefore, in recent years, in order to improve the efficiency of these operations, mail processing equipment has been developed that automatically discharges and bundles letters from a sorting machine, instead of the traditional manual work. . On the other hand, bundled letters are stuffed into various mailbags and sorted into mailbags, and then passed through sorting, so that bundled letters with a small number of copies slip out of the bundle. However, this causes the problem that the subsequent processing is extremely troublesome, and therefore, according to the domestic postal law, groups of letters with a number of less than 10 are grouped together as a group of letters. It is stipulated that it must be done. However, in the past, no means was provided for automatically merging postal letters that were less than a predetermined number (less than 10) to be bundled into a mass that could be bundled. At the same time, fewer than 10 letters were taken out from the conveyance mechanism and stacked on top of each other to form a group of letters to be roughly bundled. For this reason, although it is automatic, there is a problem that the time processing capacity is poor and it requires a great deal of labor, and the reality is that there is a demand for a merging device that can handle fewer than 10 messages. be. This invention was made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and its purpose is, for example, to ensure that paper sheets such as postal letters that are less than a predetermined stacking amount can be merged in a stacked state. The present invention aims to provide a merging device for paper sheets. ” he corrected. (5) Similarly, the words "Reject device 15" on page 7, line 5, page 7, lines 7-8, and page 7, line 9, are corrected to "merging device 15." (6) Similarly, on page 7, line 15, "placing plate 17" is corrected to "placing plate 17 as a collecting means." (7) Similarly, on page 8, line 9, "letter moving device" is corrected to "letter moving device as a delivery means." (8) Similarly, on page 12, line 16, "reject device" is corrected to "merging device." (9) Similarly, on page 12, line 17, "conveyance path 29" is corrected to "conveyance path 29 as conveyance means." Oll Similarly, page 13, lines 9 to 14, “
As explained above... "As explained above, the present invention includes a stacking means movably provided to a conveying means for conveying paper sheets, and a stacking means that is movably provided to a conveying means for conveying paper sheets, and a stacking means for separating paper sheets on the conveying means from the conveying means. K f on the accumulation means
A delivery means for stacking the paper sheets stacked on the stacking means, and a means for controlling the stacking means so that the upper surface position of the paper sheets stacked on the stacking means is lower than the conveyance surface of the conveyance means. This is a paper sheet merging device characterized by the following. Therefore, for example, it is possible to reliably merge paper sheets such as postal letters that are less than the predetermined stack l: in a stacked state. ” he corrected. (11) Similarly, page 14, lines 10-11, “15...
"Reject device" should be corrected to "15...Merge device." (121 Similarly, page 14, line 11, "17...Placement plate" is corrected to "17... Accumulating means (placing plate)". 09 Similarly, page 14, lines 11-12 Eyes, "22...
・Letter transfer mechanism” should be replaced with “22...Delivery means (
(14) Similarly, the first
On page 4, line 13, replace “29...conveyance path” with “29.
...Transportation means (transportation path)". 2. Scope of Claims A stacking means movably provided with respect to a conveying means for conveying paper sheets, and a stacking means for separating paper sheets on the conveying means from the conveying means and stacking them on the accumulating means. A merging device for paper sheets, characterized in that it comprises a delivery means for stacking paper sheets on top of paper sheets, and a means for controlling the stacking means so that the stacking means is lower than the conveyance surface of the conveyance means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] When an automatic sorting device separates stacked letters as a bundle supplied by a reading sorter, a small number of letters are conveyed to the conveyance path leading to the above-mentioned bundle sorting. A reject device is provided that selects the formed letter group and accumulates it in a stacked state, and this reject device is installed evenly in the width direction of the conveyance path and selects a small number of letter groups from among the letter groups on the conveyance path. A letter moving mechanism that selects and transfers letters along the width direction of the conveyance path while maintaining the stacked state, and a letter moving mechanism that is provided inside corresponding to the letter moving mechanism on the other side of the conveyance path in the width direction. A collection box equipped with a mounting plate movable in the stacking direction that receives the transferred letters while maintaining the stacked state; A detection mechanism that detects the top surface of the placement plate, and a drive control that moves the placement plate according to the detection information of this detection mechanism to detect the top surface of the group of fraudulent letters accumulated on the placement plate or the top surface of the placement plate. and a drive mechanism for positioning the letter below the lower surface of a group of letters stacked on a conveyance path.