JP6017355B2 - Paper sheet take-out device - Google Patents

Description

  Embodiments of the present invention relate to a paper sheet take-out apparatus that takes out and feeds stacked paper sheets such as postal items one by one.

  Paper processing devices such as postal processing machines that handle postal items such as postcards and sealed letters, for example, take-out devices, discriminating devices (OCR), stacking devices, reject (RJ) stacking devices, switchback devices, and between each device And a gate that sorts the conveyed paper sheets (mail) to each device. The plurality of paper sheets set in the supply unit of the take-out device are taken out one by one by the take-out device and sent to the determination device. The discriminating device discriminates the paper sheet and determines the destination of the paper sheet, for example, the RJ stacking device or the stacking device. Thereafter, the paper sheet is conveyed to the determined apparatus through the conveyance path and the gate mechanism, and various processes are performed in this apparatus.

  As a take-out device of the paper sheet processing apparatus, an adsorption take-out type take-out apparatus that picks up and takes out paper sheets by a negative pressure is provided. This take-out device uses a perforated belt and an air chamber to adsorb the paper sheets at the take-out position to the perforated belt, and takes out the paper sheets one by one by the perforated belt. Further, in this take-out device, a suction roller is provided on the upstream side of the perforated belt, and when there are irregular paper sheets, the paper sheets are taken out to the take-out position by the suction roller.

JP 2011-43183 A JP 2007-326713 A

  However, in the above-described take-out device, the suction roller is connected to a vacuum pump, so the pressure is low. However, the surface of the suction roller is metal and has a small coefficient of friction, and the surface that adsorbs paper sheets is a curved surface. . For this reason, the suction roller cannot adhere and adsorb the paper sheets, and it is difficult to exert a sufficient feeding force.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above points. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet take-out device that can stably take out paper sheets at high speed.

According to the embodiment, the paper sheet take-out device includes a loading unit on which a plurality of paper sheets are stacked , a take-out belt that takes out the paper sheet at a take-out position of the loading unit, and the take-out belt. A first air suction part that sucks in through the sheet and adsorbs it to the take-out belt, a first drive motor that runs the take-out belt in the take-out direction of the paper sheet, and the take- out direction with respect to the take-out direction provided on the upstream side of the belt, the suction belt provided to be run in the extraction direction, and the second air suction unit for sucking the sheet through the suction belt to said suction belt, drives the suction belt a second drive motor, Ru comprising a. The second drive motor drives the suction belt at a speed slower than the traveling speed of the take-out belt. The width of the suction belt is smaller than the width of the take-out belt.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a mail processing apparatus according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing a take-out device of the mail processing apparatus. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing an input portion and an extraction mechanism of the extraction device. FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the operation of the take-out mechanism and the auxiliary take-out mechanism of the take-out device. FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the operation of the take-out mechanism and the auxiliary take-out mechanism of the take-out device.

Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically illustrating a mail processing apparatus 100 including a paper sheet take-out apparatus 10 according to an embodiment. In addition to the take-out device 10, the mail processing apparatus 100 includes a determination unit 102, a rejection unit 104, a switchback unit 106, and a stacking unit 108. In addition, although the paper sheets processed with the processing apparatus 100 of this embodiment are mails, the to-be-processed medium (namely, paper sheets) is not restricted to mails.

  A plurality of postal items such as postcards and sealed letters are set in the take-out device 10 in a stacked state, and are taken out one by one on the conveyance path 101 by operating the take-out device as described later. In the conveyance path 101, a plurality of endless conveyance belts (not shown) are extended so as to sandwich the conveyance path 101. The picked-up postal matter is sandwiched and transported by a transport belt.

  The postal matter taken out on the conveyance path 101 is sent to the determination unit 102 where various information is read from the postal matter. The discriminating unit 102 discriminates a postal item transport posture, a sorting destination, and the like based on the read various information. In particular, the determination unit 102 reads destination information such as a postal code and an address written on a postal matter, and determines a sorting destination.

  After passing through the determination unit 102, the postal matter is sorted in the transport direction via the gate G1. That is, the postal matter that has been determined to be rejected by the determining unit 102 is conveyed to the rejecting unit 104 via the gate G1 and accumulated in the rejecting unit. Other mail items are transported to the stacking unit 108 via the gate G1 and stacked in the stacking unit 108.

  At this time, when the determination unit 102 determines that the transport direction of the postal matter needs to be reversed, the postal matter is sent to the switchback unit 106 via the gate G1 and the gate G2, and the transport direction is reversed here. The Mails that do not need to reverse the transport direction are bypassed the switchback unit 106 via the gate G2 and transported to the stacking unit 108.

  Mails sent to the stacking unit 108 via the transport path 101 are sorted and collected in a sorting / stacking pocket (not shown) according to the determination result in the determination unit 102. Mail pieces that are classified and accumulated in the respective division accumulation pockets are collected with the top and bottom aligned.

Next, the paper sheet take-out device 10 will be described in detail.
FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the take-out device 1, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the take-out device. As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the take-out device 10 has a loading unit in which a plurality of mail pieces P are set in a stacked state, and each mail piece is set in a standing position substantially perpendicular to the horizontal plane. (Supply unit) 24, a supply mechanism 20 that moves a plurality of inserted mail items P in the stacking direction and supplies the mail item P at the tip in the moving direction F to the take-out position S, and is supplied to the take-out position S The postal matter P is sent in the surface direction, here, the take-out direction D substantially perpendicular to the moving direction F, and taken out on the transport path 101 described later, and is provided upstream of the take-out mechanism 56 with respect to the take-out direction D. A take-out assisting mechanism 30 for assisting the take-out of the postal matter P, a separation unit 53 for separating the second and subsequent postal items P taken out from the postal matter P taken out from the take-out position S from the first postal matter P; Gaps between picked-up mail pieces And a conveying mechanism 58 for conveying to the downstream side by pulling out a little faster than the speed taken out postal matter P passing through the gap correction unit 55 and the gap correction unit 55 corrects the flop.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the insertion portion 24 has a flat bottom wall 24 a, a side wall (guide wall) 24 b erected substantially vertically, and a front wall 24 c, and a plurality of pieces of mail P are contained therein. They are placed on the bottom wall 24a in a stacked and standing state, and one side edge is guided by the side wall 24b. The main belt 126 that feeds the bottom side 24a of each postal matter P to the bottom wall 24a of the input unit 24 and sends it in the stacking direction (the direction of arrow F in the figure), and the posture (tilt) of the postal matter P are adjusted. A pair of sub-belts 125 are provided and can be driven independently. The main belt 126 extends along the feed direction F over substantially the entire length of the input portion 24. The sub belt 125 is provided on both sides of the main belt 126 in the vicinity of the take-out position S.

  A backup plate 9 is arranged at a position where the postal matter P at the rear end in the moving direction is in contact with the postal matter P among the plurality of postal items P. For example, the backup plate 9 is simply connected to the main belt 126, and moves in the movement direction F in synchronization with the main belt 126 to take out the postal matter P in the direction of the take-out position. Supply to take-out position S. The main belt 126, the sub belt 125, the backup plate 9, and the drive motor (not shown) that drives the main belt and the sub belt function as the supply mechanism 20.

  The plurality of paper sheets P are supported on the backup plate 9 and arranged on the main belt 126 along the side wall 24b. The presence or absence of the sheet P in the vicinity of the take-out position S is detected by a sensor (not shown). If the paper sheet P is not in the vicinity of the take-out position S, the backup plate 9 and the main belt 126 are moved to the take-out position side, and the head Paper sheet P is taken out and supplied to position S.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the take-out mechanism 56 includes an air chamber 52, a vacuum pump 61 (or an equivalent) as an air suction source connected to the air chamber via a valve device (not shown), and a postal matter P. An endless take-out belt 79 as a take-out member that is picked up by suction and a drive motor 81 that drives the take-out belt 79 are provided. A plurality of through holes (adsorption holes) 84 are formed in the take-out belt 79. The take-out belt 79 has a plurality of areas such that at least a part of the take-up belt 79 faces the postal matter P at the take-out position S and travels in the take-out direction D (the take-out direction of the postal matter P) along the take-out position S. The pulley 80 and the drive pulley 83 are wound and stretched. The take-out belt 79 is driven in a fixed direction by a drive motor 81 at a predetermined speed, for example, 4 m / s.

  The air chamber 52 is located adjacent to and opposed to the back side of the take-out belt 79, that is, the side opposite to the postal matter P, and the air chamber 52 is set to a negative pressure or a positive pressure by the vacuum pump 61. The air chamber 52 functions to take out the postal matter P and suck it out to the belt 79 when the pressure is negative, and to suck out the postal matter P and release it from the belt when the pressure is positive. . The vacuum pump 61 and the air chamber 52 constitute an air suction unit.

  As shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 3, the take-out assist mechanism 30 includes a sub air chamber 60 provided on the upstream side of the take-out belt 79 in the take-out direction D, and a negative pressure generator ( (Blower suction side) 62, an endless suction belt 64 that sucks and sends the postal matter P, and a drive motor (step motor) 66 that drives the suction bell and 64. A plurality of through holes (suction holes) 67 are formed in the suction belt 64. The negative pressure generator 62 and the sub air chamber 60 constitute an air suction unit.

  The sub air chamber 60 has a front end opening that opens toward the charging unit 24 and a guide plate 40 that covers the entire end opening. The guide plate 40 is formed in a rectangular shape, and is provided on substantially the same plane as the front wall 24 c of the insertion portion 24. A plurality of suction holes 42 are formed over the entire surface of the guide plate 40, and these suction holes 42 communicate with the sub air chamber. The suction belt 64 is positioned so that at least a part of the suction belt 64 overlaps a part of the front surface of the guide plate 40, faces the postal matter P in the input unit 24, and is aligned with the take-out belt 79 in the take-out direction D (mail). A plurality of pulleys 44 and a drive pulley 45 are wound and stretched so as to travel in the direction in which the object P is taken out. Further, the suction belt 64 is formed to have a width of about 1/3 of the take-out belt 79. The suction belt 64 is driven in the take-out direction D by the drive motor 66 at a speed that is 1/100 or less of the feed speed of the take-out belt 79, for example, 40 mm / s.

  The take-out assisting mechanism 30 sucks the postal matter P located at a position away from the sub air chamber 60 and moves it to the take-out position S, and the rear end side of the first postal matter P passes through the sub air chamber section. Then, the second mail piece P is sucked and stopped. Thereby, it works to prevent the mail piece P from being removed.

  More specifically, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG. 4, the irregular mail piece P 1 is supplied in a state where it is set at a position where it does not cover the take-out belt 79 (position upstream of the take-out belt 79 with respect to the take-out direction D). In this case, the postal matter P1 cannot be taken out by the take-out belt 79 of the take-out mechanism 56. In this case, the take-out assisting mechanism 30 sucks the postal matter P1 to the suction belt 64 by the sub air chamber 60 and drives the suction belt 64 in the take-out direction D to send the postal matter P1 to the take-out mechanism 56 side. . Thereby, the taking-out mechanism 56 can continuously take out the postal matter P1. At this time, the traveling speed of the suction belt 64 is 1/100 or less of the feed speed of the take-out belt 79, and the postal matter P1 is sent from the suction belt 64 onto the take-out belt 79 and then pulled by the take-out belt 79. , Easily separated from the suction belt 64.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, in a normal take-out operation, after the first postal matter P at the take-out position S is sent in the take-out direction D by the take-out belt 79, The air chamber 30 sucks the second postal matter P2 through the suction hole 42 of the guide plate 40 and the through-hole 67 of the suction belt 64, draws it to the take-out position S, and sends the postal matter P2 to the guide plate 40 and the suction belt 64. To adsorb. Further, the suction bell and 64 are taken out and run at a feed speed sufficiently slower than that of the belt 79. As a result, the take-out assist mechanism 30 brakes the postal matter P2 and prevents two postal items P from being taken out simultaneously.

  At this time, the suction belt 64 protrudes from the surface of the guide plate 40 toward the input portion 24 by the thickness. In the postal matter P2, a part of the postal matter P2 is adsorbed by the suction belt 64, and a part removed from the suction belt 64 is adsorbed by the guide plate 40, whereby the postal matter P2 is deformed. As a result, there is a gap between the postal matter P2 and the next postal matter (the third postal matter) that is not adsorbed, and this makes it easy to separate the postal matter P2.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the separation unit 53 of the take-out device 10 includes a two-sheet removal prevention block 31, and this prevention block faces the conveyance belt 72 with a gap G therebetween. An intake hole 28 is formed in the two-sheet removal prevention block 31, and this intake hole is connected to a negative pressure generator (vacuum pump) (not shown). When two pieces of postal matter P are taken out simultaneously by the take-out mechanism 56, the two-pickup prevention block 31 sucks and stops the postal matter on the prevention block side so that the two pieces are not sent to the gap correction unit 55 at the same time. To do.

  The gap correction unit 55 includes a sponge roller 68 and a drive roller 70 that are disposed to face each other across the conveyance path. The sponge roller 68 is a flexible roller having elasticity, and can be deformed as the thickness of the postal matter P changes. The drive roller 70 is directly driven by an AC servo motor (not shown). The postal matter P taken out by the take-out mechanism 56 is sandwiched between the sponge roller 68 and the drive roller 70. The rotation speed of the drive roller 70 is accelerated / decelerated in accordance with a command from a controller (not shown), thereby changing the conveyance speed of the postal matter P and adjusting the interval (gap) with the preceding postal matter P. That is, when the interval (gap) with the preceding mail piece P is narrower than the specified value, the conveyance speed of the mail item P is reduced by the gap correction unit 55 and the interval (gap) with the preceding mail item is set. spread. When the interval (gap) is wider than the specified value, the conveying speed of the mail P is accelerated to narrow the interval.

As shown in FIG. 2, the transport mechanism 58 includes endless transport belts 72, 74, and 75 and drive motors (not shown) that drive the transport belts 74 and 75, respectively. The conveyor belt 72 is rotated by the power of the conveyor belt 74 via the relay belt 76. The transport belts 72 and 74 are installed side by side along the transport path, and the transport belt 75 is installed facing the transport belts 72 and 74 with the transport path interposed therebetween. The postal matter P taken out by the take-out mechanism 56 is transported by the transport belt 72 and the drive roller 70 of the gap correction unit 55, and is further sandwiched between the transport belt 74 and the transport belt 75, and these transport belts. It is conveyed by. A roller 78 provided at a portion where the conveyor belt 75 faces the conveyor belt 72 is a spring tension roller. When the thick postal matter P is transported to the transporting mechanism 58, the spring tension roller 78 is spread by the postal matter P, and the postal matter P is sent between the transport belts.
The transport path 101 is provided with a plurality of sensors 82 that detect the postal matter P that passes therethrough.

  According to the take-out device 10 configured as described above, as shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum pump 61 is operated to evacuate the air chamber 52 with the maximum suction force to obtain a negative pressure. Then, a negative pressure acts on the postal matter P supplied to the take-out position S through the many through holes 84 of the take-out belt 79 traveling in the direction of arrow D, and this postal matter P is adsorbed on the surface of the take-out belt 79. Is done. The sucked postal matter P is taken out from the take-out position S onto the transport path 101 as the take-out belt 79 travels. After the air chamber 52 is sucked in for a predetermined period and the postal matter P is taken out, the suction is stopped and the inside of the air chamber 52 is set to a positive pressure. As a result, the adsorption of the postal matter P is released, and the postal matter P is taken out and separated from the belt 79. In addition, after the rear end side of the first mail piece P has passed through the sub air chamber 60, the sub mail chamber 60 sucks the second mail piece onto the suction belt 64 and stops it. To prevent. Further, the postal matter P is sucked by the suction belt 64 and sent out downstream in the take-out direction D. The take-out device 10 repeats these operations at a predetermined cycle, thereby taking out the postal matter P placed on the input unit 24 one by one and sending it to the transport path 101.

  The take-out mechanism 56 feeds the postal matter P at the take-out position S one by one onto the transport path 101, but when the plurality of postal items P are fed out onto the transport path 101 in a state where they overlap each other, the separating unit 53 Separate one by one.

  According to the take-out device 10 of the mail processing apparatus configured as described above, by providing the take-out assisting mechanism 30 having the suction belt 64 and the sub air chamber 60 on the upstream side of the take-out mechanism 56, the postal mail with poor stock. The postal matter can be taken out continuously even in the supply state of the postal matter, and two pieces of postal matter can be prevented by the frictional force of the suction belt. As a result, a paper sheet take-out device capable of stably taking out paper sheets at high speed is obtained.

The present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments as they are, and can be embodied by modifying the constituent elements without departing from the scope of the invention in the implementation stage. In addition, various inventions can be formed by appropriately combining a plurality of components disclosed in the embodiment. For example, some components may be deleted from all the components shown in the embodiment. Furthermore, constituent elements over different embodiments may be appropriately combined.
For example, the paper sheets to be processed are not limited to mail, but can be applied to other various paper sheets. The width and feed speed of the suction belt are not limited to the above-described embodiment, and can be variously selected.
Hereinafter, the description of the scope of claims at the beginning of application of the present application will be added.
[1]
A loading section on which a plurality of paper sheets are stacked;
An unloading mechanism for unloading the sheets supplied to the unloading position of the loading section one by one from the loading section;
Provided on the upstream side of the take-out mechanism with respect to the take-out direction of the paper sheet,
An adsorption belt provided so as to be able to travel in the take-out direction; an air suction unit that adsorbs paper sheets to the adsorption belt through the adsorption belt; and a drive motor that drives the adsorption belt. A take-out auxiliary mechanism that sucks and holds the next paper sheet while taking out the paper sheet by the take-out mechanism while being sucked by the suction belt and sent to the take-out position;
An apparatus for taking out paper sheets.
[2]
The take-out mechanism has a take-out belt that takes out the paper sheet at the take-out position, an air suction portion that sucks air through the take-out belt and sucks the paper sheet, and runs the take-out belt in the take-out direction. A drive motor,
The sheet take-out device according to [1], wherein the drive motor of the take-out assist mechanism drives the suction belt at a speed slower than a running speed of the take-out belt.
[3]
The paper sheet take-out device according to [2], wherein the suction belt has a width smaller than that of the take-out belt.
[4]
The air suction portion of the take-out assist mechanism covers a sub air chamber that opens toward the paper sheet in the input portion, a negative pressure generator that sucks air into the sub air chamber, and covers the opening of the sub air chamber. And a guide plate having a plurality of suction holes facing the paper sheets, and the suction belt has a plurality of suction holes and is disposed on the guide plate in an overlapping manner. ] The paper sheet taking-out apparatus according to any one of the above.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Extraction device, 20 ... Supply mechanism, 24 ... Input part, 30 ... Extraction auxiliary mechanism,
52 ... Air chamber, 53 ... Separation part, 56 ... Extraction mechanism, 58 ... Conveyance mechanism,
60 ... sub air chamber, 61 ... vacuum pump (air suction source), 62 ... negative pressure generator,
64 ... Adsorption belt, 66 ... Drive motor, 67 ... Through hole (adsorption hole), 79 ... Extraction belt,
84 ... Through hole (adsorption hole), 101 ... Conveying path,

Claims (2)

A loading section on which a plurality of paper sheets are stacked;
A take- out belt for taking out the paper sheets at the take- out position of the input section ;
A first air suction unit that sucks air through the take-out belt and takes out the paper sheet and adsorbs it to the take-out belt;
A first drive motor that travels the take-out belt in the take-out direction of the paper sheet;
With respect to the entry direction, provided on an upstream side of the pickup belt, a suction belt provided to be run in the extraction direction,
A second air suction unit for adsorbing paper sheets to the adsorption belt through the adsorption belt ;
And a second drive motor for driving said suction belt,
The second drive motor drives the suction belt at a speed slower than the traveling speed of the take-out belt,
The width of the suction belt is formed smaller than the width of the take-out belt,
Paper sheet take-out device. The second air suction unit includes a sub air chamber that opens toward the paper sheets in the input unit, a negative pressure generator that sucks air into the sub air chamber, and covers the opening of the sub air chamber. comprising a guide plate having a plurality of air intake holes with opposing the sheets, and the suction belt has a plurality of suction holes, paper according to claim 1 which are arranged superimposed on the guide plate Leaf take-out device.

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