US20080054547A1 - Sheet separation method, sheet separation mechanism and sheet feeder - Google Patents

Sheet separation method, sheet separation mechanism and sheet feeder Download PDF

Info

Publication number
US20080054547A1
US20080054547A1 US11/846,316 US84631607A US2008054547A1 US 20080054547 A1 US20080054547 A1 US 20080054547A1 US 84631607 A US84631607 A US 84631607A US 2008054547 A1 US2008054547 A1 US 2008054547A1
Authority
US
United States
Prior art keywords
sheet
bundle
conveying
separation
edge part
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Abandoned
Application number
US11/846,316
Other languages
English (en)
Inventor
Takashi Oki
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
NEC Corp
Original Assignee
NEC Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by NEC Corp filed Critical NEC Corp
Assigned to NEC CORPORATION reassignment NEC CORPORATION ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST (SEE DOCUMENT FOR DETAILS). Assignors: OKI, TAKASHI
Publication of US20080054547A1 publication Critical patent/US20080054547A1/en
Abandoned legal-status Critical Current

Links

Images

Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/08—Separating articles from piles using pneumatic force
    • B65H3/0808—Suction grippers
    • B65H3/0816—Suction grippers separating from the top of pile
    • B65H3/0825—Suction grippers separating from the top of pile and acting on the rear part of the articles relatively to the final separating direction
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/32—Separating articles from piles by elements, e.g. fingers, plates, rollers, inserted or traversed between articles to be separated and remainder of the pile
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/46—Supplementary devices or measures to assist separation or prevent double feed
    • B65H3/50—Elements, e.g. fingers, plates, rollers, inserted or traversed between articles to be separated and remainder of the pile
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2301/00—Handling processes for sheets or webs
    • B65H2301/40—Type of handling process
    • B65H2301/42—Piling, depiling, handling piles
    • B65H2301/423—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile
    • B65H2301/4233—Depiling; Separating articles from a pile by peeling, i.e. involving elongated elements traversing pile

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a sheet separation method which separates a sheet one by one from a bundle of sheets and a sheet separation mechanism and moreover, relates to a sheet feeder having such sheet separation mechanism.
  • a sheet separation mechanism which separates a sheet one by one from a bundle of sheets is known. These sheets are for example, postal matters such as postcards, letters and envelopes. Such sheet separation mechanism feeds a separated sheet to a processing step or a processing apparatus in a succeeding stage (i.e. next stage).
  • a sheet feeder shown in FIG. 18 includes a mounting table 101 , a feeding conveyor 102 and a sheet separation mechanism 103 .
  • the mounting table 101 is a table on which a bundle 10 of sheets 11 is placed in an upright position.
  • the feeding conveyor 102 conveys the bundle 10 of sheets 11 placed on the mounting table 101 toward a next stage.
  • the sheet separation mechanism 103 separates the sheet 11 one by one from the bundle 10 that has been conveyed to an end part of the feeding conveyor 102 and feeds the separated sheet 11 to a processing apparatus in the stage.
  • a posture of the bundle 10 of sheets 11 placed on the mounting table 101 is maintained in an upright position by a compartment 104 provided for the feeding conveyor 102 .
  • the bundle 10 is conveyed toward the sheet separation mechanism 103 by the compartment 104 and a bottom belt 105 (i.e. in a direction of an arrow D 11 in FIG. 18 ) while keeping the upright posture.
  • the sheets 11 are suctioned in order, from a top sheet, by a vacuum suction chamber 107 via a suction belt 106 having a plurality of through-holes therein.
  • the suctioned sheet 11 is fed one by one in a predetermined conveying direction (in a direction of an arrow D 12 in FIG. 18 ) according to a revolution of the suction belt 106 .
  • the sheet separation mechanism 103 employing such suction belt, if the bundle 10 includes the sheets 11 which are attached firmly to each other, it is quite likely that the sheets 11 cannot be separated one by one. In such case, a bundle including two or more sheets 11 is fed to a processing apparatus in a next stage. For example, when the sheets 11 whose surface is vinyl-coated are stacked, the sheets 11 are firmly adhered to each other. In the above mentioned related art, since sheets cannot be properly separated through a suction/conveying operation of the suction belt 106 , a plurality of sheets are simultaneously fed to a next stage.
  • the sheet separation mechanism includes a suction/pulling unit (i.e. capture unit), a separation unit (i.e. detachment unit) and a conveying unit.
  • the suction/pulling unit sucks and pulls an edge part of a sheet apart from a bundle of sheets using a movable suction head (i.e. sucker).
  • the separation unit separates a sheet whose edge part has been pulled apart from the bundle.
  • the conveying unit conveys the sheet separated from the bundle toward a processing unit in a next stage. Since such sheet separation mechanism suctions an edge part of a sheet to pull the sheet apart from the bundle, the sheet separation mechanism has a good performance for separating for a sheet compared with a sheet separation mechanism employing a suction belt.
  • a suction head of a sheet separation mechanism of such related art only moves linearly in a vertical direction to a surface of a sheet. Therefore, even when such suction head is used, a sheet is not separated from a bundle of sheets if edge parts of the sheets are strongly attached to each other.
  • An object of the present invention is to provide a sheet separation method, a sheet separation mechanism, and a sheet feeder in which a sheet can be certainly separated one by one even when stacked sheets are firmly contacted each other.
  • the present invention provides a sheet separation method for separating a sheet one by one from a bundle of the sheets and feeding the separated sheet to a next processing step, including: suctioning an edge part of the sheet and pulling the suctioned edge part from the bundle as if to turn over the suctioned edge part; separating the sheet from the bundle, the edge part of the sheet being suctioned and pulled; and conveying the sheet separated from the bundle in a predetermined direction.
  • the present invention provides a sheet separation mechanism for separating a sheet one by one from a bundle of the sheets and feeding the separated sheet to a next processing step, including: a suction/pulling unit including a suction head for suctioning an edge part of the sheet and pulling the suctioned edge part of the sheet apart from the bundle by a twist movement of the suction head; a separation unit for separating the sheet from the bundle, the edge part of the sheet being suctioned and pulled by the suction head; and a conveying unit for conveying the sheet separated from the bundle in a predetermined direction.
  • a suction/pulling unit including a suction head for suctioning an edge part of the sheet and pulling the suctioned edge part of the sheet apart from the bundle by a twist movement of the suction head; a separation unit for separating the sheet from the bundle, the edge part of the sheet being suctioned and pulled by the suction head; and a conveying unit for conveying the sheet separated from the bundle in a predetermined direction.
  • the present invention provides a sheet feeder including a sheet conveying mechanism which conveys a bundle of sheets and a sheet separation mechanism which separates the sheet one by one from the bundle that is conveyed to an end part of the sheet conveying mechanism and feeds the separated sheet to a next processing step, wherein the sheet separation mechanism including: a suction/pulling unit including a suction head for suctioning an edge part of the sheet and pulling the suctioned edge part of the sheet apart from the bundle by a twist movement of the suction head; a separation unit for separating the sheet from the bundle, the edge part of the sheet being suctioned and pulled by the suction head; and a conveying unit for conveying the sheet separated from the bundle in a predetermined direction.
  • a suction/pulling unit including a suction head for suctioning an edge part of the sheet and pulling the suctioned edge part of the sheet apart from the bundle by a twist movement of the suction head; a separation unit for separating the sheet from the bundle, the edge part of the sheet being
  • FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet feeder according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a front view of the sheet feeder according to the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 3 is a plan view showing a sheet conveying mechanism in a conveying state with maintaining an upright position in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a front view showing the sheet conveying mechanism in a conveying state with maintaining an upright position in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the sheet conveying mechanism in a conveying state with a posture control in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 6 is a front view showing the sheet conveying mechanism in a conveying state with a posture control in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 7A is a plan view showing a sheet separation mechanism (at the beginning of a suction/pulling step) in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line VIIB-VIIB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 7A .
  • FIG. 8A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism (at the beginning of a separation step) in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line VIIIB-VIIIB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 8A .
  • FIG. 9A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism (during the separation step) in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 9B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line IXB-IXB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 9A .
  • FIG. 10A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism (at the beginning of a conveying step) in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 10B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line XB-XB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 10A .
  • FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism (during an original position returning step) in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of a suction head operation mechanism in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 13 is a figure viewing from an arrow direction at a position of the line XIII-XIII in FIG. 12 .
  • FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line XIV-XIV viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 13 .
  • FIG. 15 is a partial side view showing the suction head operation mechanism in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 16 is a partial front view showing the suction head operation mechanism in normal state in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 17 is a partial front view showing the suction head operation mechanism in twist movement state in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 18 is a front view showing a related art of a sheet feeder.
  • FIG. 1 is a plan view of a sheet feeder in an exemplary embodiment according to the present invention.
  • FIG. 2 is a front view of the sheet feeder in the exemplary embodiment according to the present invention.
  • a sheet feeder in the exemplary embodiment according to the present invention includes a sheet conveying mechanism 20 and a sheet separation mechanism 30 .
  • the sheet conveying mechanism 20 conveys a bundle 10 of sheets 11 , placed in an upright position, toward the sheet separation mechanism 30 (in a direction of an arrow D 1 in FIG. 1 ).
  • the sheet separation mechanism 30 separates a sheet 11 one by one from the bundle 10 that is conveyed to an end part of the sheet conveying mechanism 20 and feeds the separated sheet 11 to a processing step or a processing apparatus (not shown) in a next stage (in a sheet feeding direction of an arrow D 2 in FIG. 1 ).
  • FIG. 3 is a plan view showing the sheet conveying mechanism 20 for conveying a bundle 10 of sheets 11 in an upright position in the exemplary embodiment of the present invention.
  • FIG. 4 is a front view showing the sheet conveying mechanism 20 for conveying the bundle 10 in an upright position in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 5 is a plan view showing the sheet conveying mechanism 20 in a conveying state with a posture control in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 6 is a front view showing the sheet conveying mechanism 20 in a conveying state with a posture control in the exemplary embodiment.
  • the sheet conveying mechanism 20 includes a mounting table 21 , an end plate 22 , an upright position maintaining/conveying unit 23 and a posture controlling/conveying unit 24 .
  • the mounting table 21 is a table on which the bundle 10 of sheets 11 is placed in an upright position.
  • the end plate 22 moves in a direction of an arrow D 1 and applies a pressure to the bundle 10 of sheets 11 to convey it, while keeping a posture of the bundle 10 .
  • the upright position maintaining/conveying unit 23 conveys the bundle 10 in the direction of the arrow D 1 while keeping the bundle 10 in an upright position.
  • the upright position maintaining/conveying unit 23 includes conveying belts 25 having teeth engaged with a bottom end of the sheet 11 .
  • Two conveying belts 25 are arranged side by side along the mounting table 21 , and the belts 25 are driven at almost the same speed as that of the end plate 22 .
  • the bundle 10 of sheets 11 is conveyed to the posture controlling/conveying unit 24 while maintaining an upright position.
  • the posture controlling/conveying unit 24 controls a posture of the bundle 10 which is conveyed to an end part of the upright position maintaining/conveying unit 23 while conveying the bundle 10 toward the sheet separation mechanism 30 .
  • the posture controlling/conveying unit 24 includes two conveying belts 26 having teeth engaged with a bottom end of the sheet 11 and angle detection sensors 27 which detect a posture of the bundle 10 of the sheets 11 .
  • the conveying belts 26 are arranged side by side so that the bundle 10 of the sheet 11 can be smoothly caught from the conveying belts 25 .
  • the angle detection sensors 27 are arranged at both sides of a conveying path of the posture controlling/conveying unit 24 to detect an angle of the sheets 11 .
  • a target angle in a posture control of the sheets 11 is 30 degrees
  • three angle detection sensors 27 are arranged on a straight line at an angle of 30 degrees with respect to a conveying direction (i.e. arrow direction D 1 ) of the sheets 11 in FIG. 4 .
  • An angle detection of the sheets 11 is performed based on a detection timing of the angle detection sensors 27 .
  • the bundle 10 of sheets 11 is placed on the conveying belts 25 of the mounting table 21 in an upright position as shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4 . Then, the end plate 22 and the conveying belts 25 convey the bundle 10 of sheets 11 toward a next stage (direction D 1 ) while maintaining an upright position.
  • a conveyance of the bundle 10 of sheets 11 is taken over from the conveying belts 25 to the conveying belts 26 as shown in FIG. 5 and FIG. 6 .
  • the conveying belts 26 drive at a higher speed than the conveying belts 25 and the end plate 22 , the bundle 10 is further conveyed while changing an angle of an upright position.
  • the angle of the bundle 10 is detected by the angle detection sensors 27 and a driving speed of the conveying belt 25 (or 26 ) is controlled by feedback-control.
  • the angle of the bundle 10 can be adjusted to an arbitrary value.
  • a driving speed of the conveying belt 25 (or 26 ) is feedback-controlled so that the target angle of the bundle 10 at an end part of the conveying belt 26 becomes 30 degrees.
  • FIG. 7A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism 30 at the beginning of a suction/pulling step in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 7B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line VIIB-VIIB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 7A .
  • FIG. 8A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism 30 at the beginning of a separation step in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 8B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line VIIIB-VIIIB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 8A .
  • FIG. 9A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism 30 during the separation step in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 9A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism 30 during the separation step in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 9B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line IXB-IXB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 9A .
  • FIG. 10A is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism 30 at the beginning of a conveying step in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 10B is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line XB-XB viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 10A .
  • FIG. 11 is a plan view showing the sheet separation mechanism during an original position returning step in the exemplary embodiment.
  • the sheet separation mechanism 30 includes a suction/pulling unit 31 , a separation unit 32 and a conveying unit 33 .
  • the suction/pulling unit 31 suctions an edge part of the sheet 11 to pull the edge part apart from the bundle 10 .
  • the separation unit 32 completely separates the sheet 11 whose edge part is pulled from the bundle 10 .
  • the conveying unit 33 conveys the sheet 11 separated from the bundle 10 to a processing step or a processing apparatus (not shown) in a next stage.
  • the suction/pulling unit 31 includes a suction head 34 , an arm 35 and a suction head operation mechanism 40 (not shown in FIG. 7A to FIG. 11 ).
  • the suction head 34 is connected to a vacuum source (not shown) to suction an edge part of the sheet 11 .
  • the arm 35 moves the suction head 34 in a predetermined direction.
  • the suction head operation mechanism 40 drives the suction head 34 via the arm 35 to perform a necessary operation.
  • the suction head operation mechanism 40 is described in detail below.
  • the arm 35 not only move the suction head 34 in a vertical direction to a surface of the bundle 10 but also move the suction head 34 along a curved line to tilt the suction head 34 with respect to the surface of the bundle 10 as if to turn over the suctioned edge part of the sheet to be separated. Because of such movements of the suction head 34 , an only suctioned edge part of the sheet 11 is bent, curled or curved. That is, the suctioned edge part of the sheet is pulled apart from the bundle 10 to generate a gap between the (first positioned) sheet 11 and the bundle 10 (i.e., the remaining sheets). For example, the arm 35 moves the suction head 34 in a direction of an arrow D 4 shown in FIG. 7B . Such operation can be enabled by the suction head operation mechanism 40 explained in detail below.
  • the separation unit 32 includes a separation roller 36 .
  • the separation roller 36 is inserted into a gap between the sheet 11 that is partially separated by the suction/pulling unit 31 and a remaining part of the bundle 10 by revolution of the separation roller 36 . Accordingly, the only one sheet 11 is completely separated from the bundle 10 .
  • three separation rollers 36 a to 36 c are arranged so as to protrude radially from a rotatable pulley 37 .
  • the separation rollers 36 a to 36 c are arranged side by side at a predetermined interval in a rotation direction of the pulley 37 (direction of an arrow D 3 in the drawings).
  • the separation rollers 36 a to 36 c revolve around the pulley 37 and may also rotate about each rotation axis.
  • the separation rollers 36 a to 36 c are inserted in turn into a gap between the sheet 11 that is partially pulled by the suction head 34 and the bundle 10 , the sheet 11 can be completely separated from the bundle 10 .
  • a plate-like conveyance guide 38 for preventing sagging (i.e. drooping) of the separated sheet 11 is provided for the separation roller 36 c that is the last separation roller.
  • the conveying unit 33 includes a conveying roller 39 .
  • the conveying roller 39 rotates on its axis while the sheet 11 is located between the conveying roller 39 and the separation roller 36 c. Thereby, a rotation force of the conveying roller 39 is transmitted to the sheet 11 separated from the bundle 10 and the separated sheet 11 is conveyed toward a processing step or a processing apparatus in a next stage.
  • the sheet separation mechanism 30 described above can be applied to a bundle of sheets with various angle postures including a horizontal posture and a vertical posture by adjusting an angle of a revolution plane of the separation rollers 36 a to 36 c and a movement mode or direction of the suction head 34 .
  • an angle detection of the sheet 11 in the sheet conveying mechanism 20 an angle of a revolution plane of the separation rollers 36 a to 36 c and a movement mode or direction of the suction head 34 may be adjusted automatically. Because of such adjustments, separating performance of the sheet separation mechanism 30 is further improved.
  • FIG. 7A and FIG. 7B an edge part of a top sheet of the sheet 11 of the bundle 10 is suctioned by the suction head 34 .
  • the suction head 34 moves the suctioned edge part of the sheet 11 so as to bend the edge part in a direction shown as arrow D 4 in FIG. 7B , while lifting the edge part up in a vertical direction to a surface of the bundle 10 .
  • a movement in which the suction head 34 moves along a curved line indicated as the arrow D 4 in FIG. 7B is called as “twist movement” here.
  • the pulley 37 rotates in a direction illustrated as an arrow D 3 .
  • the separation rollers 36 a to 36 c are inserted in turn into a gap between the sheet 11 that is partially pulled and the bundle 10 and accordingly, the sheet 11 is gradually separated from the bundle 10 .
  • a rotation of the pulley 37 stops (a separation step).
  • suction by the suction head 34 stops to release the separated sheet 11 , and also the conveying roller 39 rotates on its axis (rotation in a direction of an arrow D 5 ).
  • the separated sheet 11 which is sandwiched between the conveying roller 39 and the separation roller 36 c is conveyed toward a next stage (in a direction of an arrow D 2 ).
  • sagging of the separated sheet 11 is prevented by the conveyance guide 38 (a conveying step).
  • FIG. 12 is a plan view showing an example of the suction head operation mechanism 40 in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 13 is a figure viewing from an arrow direction at a position of the line XIII-XIII in FIG. 12 .
  • FIG. 14 is a cross sectional view showing a schematic cross section taken along the line XIV-XIV viewing from an arrow direction in FIG. 13 .
  • FIG. 15 is a partial side view showing the suction head operation mechanism 40 in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 16 is a partial front view showing the suction head operation mechanism 40 in normal state in the exemplary embodiment.
  • FIG. 17 is a partial front view showing the suction head operation mechanism 40 in twist movement state in the exemplary embodiment.
  • the suction head operation mechanism 40 shown in above drawings includes a twist movement unit which controls the suction head 34 to perform the above-mentioned twist movement and an up-and-down movement unit which controls the suction head 34 to perform an up-and-down movement.
  • the twist movement unit includes a swinging link 41 , a spindle 42 , a slider 43 and an air cylinder 44 .
  • One end of the swinging link 41 supports the suction head 34 via the arm 35 .
  • the other end of the swinging link 41 is connected to the air cylinder 44 .
  • the slider 43 swingably supports the swinging link 41 via the spindle 42 parallel to the arm 35 .
  • the air cylinder 44 is provided between the slider 43 and the swinging link 41 .
  • force of the expanding movement transmits to the other end of the swinging link 41 .
  • the swinging link 41 swings about the spindle 42 that serves as a supporting point (in a direction of an arrow D 7 in FIG. 16 ), and the twist movement of the suction head 34 is performed.
  • the up-and-down movement unit includes a guide rail 45 , a base 46 , a servo motor 47 , a pulley 48 and a connection rod 49 .
  • the guide rail 45 is provided on the base 46 to guide an up-and-down slide operation of the slider 43 .
  • the base 46 supports up-and-down slidably the slider 43 via the guide rail 45 .
  • the servo motor 47 is provided below the base 46 .
  • the pulley 48 is connected to a drive shaft of the servo motor 47 and is rotated within a predetermined angle range according to a rotation of the drive shaft.
  • the connection rod 49 connects the pulley 48 and one end of the slider 43 .
  • the suction/pulling unit 31 includes the suction head 34 which suctions an edge part of the sheet 11 and the edge part of the sheet 11 is partly separated from the bundle 10 by the twist movement of the suction head 34 .
  • the separation unit 32 includes the plurality of separation rollers 36 a to 36 c which revolve around the pulley 37 .
  • the separation rollers 36 a to 36 c are inserted in turn into a gap between the sheet 11 that is partly pulled by the suction/pulling unit 31 and the bundle 10 . Accordingly, the only one sheet 11 is separated from the bundle 10 .
  • the separation unit 32 of the exemplary embodiment can separate the sheet 11 that is partly pulled by the suction/pulling unit 31 from the bundle 10 quickly and certainly.
  • the conveying unit 33 includes the conveying roller 39 .
  • the sheet 11 is sandwiched between the separation roller 36 c and the conveying roller 39 .
  • the rotation force of the conveying roller 39 conveys and feeds the sheet 11 separated from the bundle 10 toward a next stage (i.e. a processing apparatus in a next step).
  • a next stage i.e. a processing apparatus in a next step.
  • the separated sheet 11 can be certainly conveyed and also a structure of the conveying unit 33 can be simplified by utilizing the separation roller 36 c for a part of the conveying unit 33 .
  • a sheet separation mechanism of the exemplary embodiment is suitable for a supply feeder of a large scale mail sorting apparatus, but also it can be applied to a supply feeder which separates and supplies a mail such as an ordinary postcard and a letter or a supply feeder which separates and supplies other sheets.
  • an edge part of a sheet is suctioned by a suction head and the edge part of the sheet is partly separated from a bundle of the sheets by the twist movement of the suction head. Therefore, the sheet can be certainly separated one by one from the bundle in which the sheets strongly adhere to each other and the separated sheet is stably fed to a next step.

Landscapes

  • Engineering & Computer Science (AREA)
  • Mechanical Engineering (AREA)
  • Sheets, Magazines, And Separation Thereof (AREA)
US11/846,316 2006-08-29 2007-08-28 Sheet separation method, sheet separation mechanism and sheet feeder Abandoned US20080054547A1 (en)

Applications Claiming Priority (2)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP2006231495A JP2008056363A (ja) 2006-08-29 2006-08-29 紙葉類分離機構、紙葉類分離方法及び紙葉類供給装置
JP231495/2006 2006-08-29

Publications (1)

Publication Number Publication Date
US20080054547A1 true US20080054547A1 (en) 2008-03-06

Family

ID=38896124

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
US11/846,316 Abandoned US20080054547A1 (en) 2006-08-29 2007-08-28 Sheet separation method, sheet separation mechanism and sheet feeder

Country Status (4)

Country Link
US (1) US20080054547A1 (de)
EP (1) EP1894868B1 (de)
JP (1) JP2008056363A (de)
DE (1) DE602007009910D1 (de)

Cited By (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120280479A1 (en) * 2009-11-12 2012-11-08 Marita Barth Coated Fabric Products
US20140029961A1 (en) * 2012-07-30 2014-01-30 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Image forming apparatus
US10774467B2 (en) 2009-11-12 2020-09-15 Dow Silicones Corporation Coated fabric products

Families Citing this family (3)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
FR3011233B1 (fr) 2013-09-30 2015-09-04 Solystic Module de stockage avec des fonctions d'empilage et de depilage
JP6983052B2 (ja) * 2017-12-14 2021-12-17 日本クロージャー株式会社 搬出装置
CN111038980A (zh) * 2019-12-31 2020-04-21 安徽科大智能物联技术有限公司 一种铜板自动整形分离输送装置

Citations (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4420150A (en) * 1979-12-19 1983-12-13 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Apparatus and method for separating a single sheet from a stack and conveying it
US4815723A (en) * 1986-10-22 1989-03-28 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Photosensitive plate autofeeder
US4958824A (en) * 1988-11-09 1990-09-25 Spartanics, Ltd. Automatic strip and sheet loader system
US5075939A (en) * 1989-12-29 1991-12-31 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Sheet supplying device
US5560596A (en) * 1993-08-10 1996-10-01 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Sheet supplying device and recording or reading apparatus
US6179280B1 (en) * 1999-06-11 2001-01-30 Andrew F. Coppolo Envelope processing apparatus
US20030188656A1 (en) * 2002-04-05 2003-10-09 Agfa Corporation Apparatus and method for picking a single printing plate from a stack of printing plates
US6688591B2 (en) * 2002-04-05 2004-02-10 Agfa Corporation Apparatus and method for removing slip sheets
US20040084833A1 (en) * 2001-02-19 2004-05-06 Jensen David William Sheet feeding apparatus for feeding porous sheets of media from a stack of such sheets
US6904844B2 (en) * 2003-03-25 2005-06-14 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Printing plate removing/supplying device
US20060071353A1 (en) * 1999-05-18 2006-04-06 Creo Il Ltd. Automatic printing plate feeding system
US7100506B2 (en) * 2002-10-02 2006-09-05 Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. Plate supplying apparatus
US7293767B2 (en) * 2002-12-10 2007-11-13 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Sheet sucking/feeding device
US7434799B2 (en) * 2004-09-17 2008-10-14 Fujifilm Corporation Film sheet feeding mechanism using a feeding arm having a sucking unit and corresponding mechanism and thermal development recording apparatus having the same
US7461838B2 (en) * 2005-10-18 2008-12-09 Graphic Packaging International, Inc. Spaced apart segment wheel assembly for a carton packaging machine

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
DE876071C (de) * 1951-09-05 1953-05-07 Sig Schweiz Industrieges Verfahren und Vorrichtung zur Einzelentnahme von Zuschnitten aus Papier od. dgl. aus einem Stapel und zur Weiterleitung derselben an eine Verarbeitungsstation einer Verarbeitungsmaschine
US5441249A (en) * 1992-12-22 1995-08-15 Asterisk, Inc Method and device for separating lifts from a stack of sheets
JP3328706B2 (ja) * 1993-02-05 2002-09-30 ニチロ工業株式会社 折帳印刷物の供給装置
EP1086914B1 (de) * 1999-09-24 2003-05-02 Ferag AG Vorrichtung zum Transport von flexiblen, flächigen Erzeugnissen

Patent Citations (15)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US4420150A (en) * 1979-12-19 1983-12-13 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Apparatus and method for separating a single sheet from a stack and conveying it
US4815723A (en) * 1986-10-22 1989-03-28 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Photosensitive plate autofeeder
US4958824A (en) * 1988-11-09 1990-09-25 Spartanics, Ltd. Automatic strip and sheet loader system
US5075939A (en) * 1989-12-29 1991-12-31 Brother Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha Sheet supplying device
US5560596A (en) * 1993-08-10 1996-10-01 Canon Kabushiki Kaisha Sheet supplying device and recording or reading apparatus
US20060071353A1 (en) * 1999-05-18 2006-04-06 Creo Il Ltd. Automatic printing plate feeding system
US6179280B1 (en) * 1999-06-11 2001-01-30 Andrew F. Coppolo Envelope processing apparatus
US20040084833A1 (en) * 2001-02-19 2004-05-06 Jensen David William Sheet feeding apparatus for feeding porous sheets of media from a stack of such sheets
US20030188656A1 (en) * 2002-04-05 2003-10-09 Agfa Corporation Apparatus and method for picking a single printing plate from a stack of printing plates
US6688591B2 (en) * 2002-04-05 2004-02-10 Agfa Corporation Apparatus and method for removing slip sheets
US7100506B2 (en) * 2002-10-02 2006-09-05 Dainippon Screen Mfg. Co., Ltd. Plate supplying apparatus
US7293767B2 (en) * 2002-12-10 2007-11-13 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Sheet sucking/feeding device
US6904844B2 (en) * 2003-03-25 2005-06-14 Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. Printing plate removing/supplying device
US7434799B2 (en) * 2004-09-17 2008-10-14 Fujifilm Corporation Film sheet feeding mechanism using a feeding arm having a sucking unit and corresponding mechanism and thermal development recording apparatus having the same
US7461838B2 (en) * 2005-10-18 2008-12-09 Graphic Packaging International, Inc. Spaced apart segment wheel assembly for a carton packaging machine

Cited By (6)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
US20120280479A1 (en) * 2009-11-12 2012-11-08 Marita Barth Coated Fabric Products
US9932706B2 (en) * 2009-11-12 2018-04-03 Dow Corning Corporation Coated fabric products
US10301771B2 (en) 2009-11-12 2019-05-28 Dow Corning Corporation Coated fabric products
US10774467B2 (en) 2009-11-12 2020-09-15 Dow Silicones Corporation Coated fabric products
US20140029961A1 (en) * 2012-07-30 2014-01-30 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Image forming apparatus
US9354537B2 (en) * 2012-07-30 2016-05-31 Ricoh Company, Ltd. Image forming apparatus for calculating shape of recording medium based on angles between conveying direction and straight lines using upstream and downstream detectors

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE602007009910D1 (de) 2010-12-02
EP1894868A3 (de) 2008-03-12
EP1894868B1 (de) 2010-10-20
JP2008056363A (ja) 2008-03-13
EP1894868A2 (de) 2008-03-05

Similar Documents

Publication Publication Date Title
US20080054547A1 (en) Sheet separation method, sheet separation mechanism and sheet feeder
US10494207B2 (en) Sheet feeding device and image forming system
US8556252B2 (en) Device and method to supply print products to a processing section
JP2016050107A (ja) 紙葉類供給装置および紙葉類処理装置
CN1931694A (zh) 纸张类输送路径切换装置
JP5280125B2 (ja) クロス搬送装置
US8827261B2 (en) Sheet-handling apparatus
JP2000103535A (ja) シート給送装置
EP2781478B1 (de) Vorrichtung zum Aufnehmen von Papierbogen und Vorrichtung zur Verarbeitung von Papierbogen
EP2141099B1 (de) Papierzufuhrvorrichtung
US6702275B2 (en) Paper-leaves separating/supplying method and apparatus
US20160375717A1 (en) Apparatus for inserting documents into envelopes and associated method
JP3204846B2 (ja) ソータ
AU2014349198A1 (en) Apparatus for inserting documents into envelopes and associated method
JP2009166981A (ja) 枚葉装置
CN1914105A (zh) 供纸装置
JP2001199575A (ja) 紙葉類の供給装置および供給方法
JP3713459B2 (ja) 紙葉類処理装置
US20160159140A1 (en) Apparatus for inserting documents into envelopes and associated method
JP3531525B2 (ja) 紙葉類分離装置
JP2021041955A (ja) 包装袋供給装置
JP5082061B2 (ja) 折丁供給装置
JP6304927B2 (ja) 紙葉類取り出し装置、および紙葉類取り出し方法
JP3716103B2 (ja) 紙葉類分離装置
JP4131329B2 (ja) シートマガジンにおけるシート分離装置

Legal Events

Date Code Title Description
AS Assignment

Owner name: NEC CORPORATION, JAPAN

Free format text: ASSIGNMENT OF ASSIGNORS INTEREST;ASSIGNOR:OKI, TAKASHI;REEL/FRAME:019792/0514

Effective date: 20070816

STCB Information on status: application discontinuation

Free format text: ABANDONED -- FAILURE TO RESPOND TO AN OFFICE ACTION