Paper sheet pickup device and paper sheet processing apparatus

Abstract

 According to one embodiment, a paper sheet pickup device includes an input portion (24), pickup mechanism (56), and pickup assist mechanism (30). The pickup mechanism picks up, one by one, the paper sheets supplied to a pickup position. The pickup assist mechanism is arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism in the pickup direction of the paper sheet. The pickup assist mechanism includes a suction belt (64) configured to be arranged to be able to travel in the pickup direction, an air drawing portion (60, 62) configured to suck a paper sheet to the suction belt through the suction belt, and a driving motor (66) configured to drive the suction belt. The pickup assist mechanism sucks a paper sheet to the suction belt to feed it to the pickup position, and while the pickup mechanism picks up the paper sheet, sucks and holds the next paper sheet.

Description

FIELD

[0001] Embodiments described herein relate generally to a paper sheet pickup device and paper sheet processing apparatus.

BACKGROUND

[0002] A paper sheet processing apparatus such as a postal matter processing apparatus which handles postcards, letters, and the like includes, e.g., a pickup device, a determination device (OCR), a stacking device, a reject (RJ) stacking device, a switchback device, a conveyance path which connects the respective devices, and a gate which distributes conveyed paper sheets (postal matters) to the respective devices. A plurality of paper sheets set at the supply portion of the pickup device are separated and picked up one by one by the pickup device, and fed to the determination device. The determination device determines the paper sheet, and decides the destination of the paper sheet, e.g., the RJ stacking device or the stacking device. After that, the paper sheet is conveyed to the decided device via the conveyance path and gate mechanism, and undergoes various processes inside the device.

[0003] As the pickup device of the paper sheet processing apparatus, there has been provided a suction pickup device which sucks a paper sheet by a negative pressure and picks it up. This pickup device sucks a paper sheet present at a pickup position to a perforated belt by using the perforated belt and an air chamber, and picks up paper sheets one by one by the perforated belt. In the pickup device, a suction roller is arranged upstream of the perforated belt. When there is an unaligned paper sheet, the suction roller feeds the paper sheet to the pickup position.

[0004] In the above-mentioned pickup device, the suction roller is connected to a vacuum pump and set to a low pressure. However, the surface of the suction roller is made of a metal and has a small friction coefficient. In addition, a surface of the suction roller that sucks a paper sheet is curved. For this reason, the suction roller cannot tightly suck a paper sheet, and it is difficult to exert a satisfactory feeding force.

(Object of the Invention)

[0005] The present invention has as its object to provide a paper sheet pickup device capable of stably picking up a paper sheet at a high speed, and a paper sheet processing apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0006] 

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a postal matter processing apparatus according to an embodiment;

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the pickup device of the postal matter processing apparatus;

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the input portion and pickup mechanism of the pickup device;

FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the operations of the pickup mechanism and pickup assist mechanism of the pickup device; and

FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the operations of the pickup mechanism and pickup assist mechanism of the pickup device.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0007] According to one embodiment, a paper sheet pickup device includes an input portion, pickup mechanism, and pickup assist mechanism. In the input portion, a plurality of paper sheets are placed while overlapping each other. The pickup mechanism picks up, one by one, the paper sheets supplied to the pickup position of the input portion. The pickup assist mechanism is arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism in the pickup direction of the paper sheet. The pickup assist mechanism includes a suction belt configured to be arranged to be able to travel in the pickup direction, an air drawing portion configured to suck a paper sheet to the suction belt through the suction belt, and a driving motor configured to drive the suction belt. The pickup assist mechanism sucks a paper sheet to the suction belt to feed it to the pickup position, and while the pickup mechanism picks up the paper sheet, sucks and holds the next paper sheet.

[0008] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0009] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a postal matter processing apparatus (paper sheet processing apparatus) 100 including a paper sheet pickup device 10 according to the embodiment. In addition to the pickup device 10, the postal matter processing apparatus 100 includes a determination unit 102, rejection unit 104, switchback unit 106, and stacking unit 108. Note that a paper sheet to be processed by the processing apparatus 100 according to the embodiment is a postal matter, but a medium to be processed (i.e., a paper sheet) is not limited to a postal matter.

[0010] A stack of postal matters such as postcards or letters is set in the pickup device 10. The pickup device operates in a manner to be described later, picking up the postal matters one by one onto a conveyance path 101. A plurality of pairs of endless conveyance belts (not shown) extend on the conveyance path 101 to sandwich it. The picked-up postal matter is nipped and conveyed by the conveyance belts.

[0011] The postal matter picked up on the conveyance path 101 is fed to the determination unit 102, and the determination unit 102 reads various kinds of information from the postal matter. Based on the read various kinds of information, the determination unit 102 determines the conveyance posture, sorting destination, and the like of the postal matter. In particular, the determination unit 102 determines a sorting destination by reading address information such as a postal code and address written on the postal matter.

[0012] After passing through the determination unit 102, the conveyance direction of the postal matter is distributed via a gate G1. More specifically, a postal matter determined by the determination unit 102 to be a postal matter to be rejected is conveyed to the rejection unit 104 via the gate G1, and stacked on the rejection unit. Other postal matters are conveyed to the stacking unit 108 via the gate G1 and stacked inside the stacking unit 108.

[0013] At this time, when the determination unit 102 determines that the conveyance direction of a postal matter needs to be reversed, the postal matter is fed to the switchback unit 106 via the gate G1 and a gate G2 to reverse the conveyance direction. A postal matter for which the conveyance direction need not be reversed detours the switchback unit 106 via the gate G2 and is conveyed to the stacking unit 108.

[0014] A postal matter fed to the stacking unit 108 via the conveyance path 101 is sorted and stacked in a sorting stacking pocket (not shown) in accordance with the result of determination by the determination unit 102. Postal matters are sorted and stacked in each sorting stacking pocket with their tops and bottoms being aligned.

[0015] Next, the paper sheet pickup device 10 will be explained in detail.

[0016] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the pickup device 10. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the pickup device. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pickup device 10 includes an input portion (supply portion) 24, supply mechanism 20, pickup mechanism 56, pickup assist mechanism 30, separation portion 53, gap correction portion 55, and conveyance mechanism 58. At the input portion 24, a stack of postal matters P is set while each postal matter stands almost perpendicularly to the horizontal plane. The supply mechanism 20 moves a plurality of input postal matters P in the stacking direction to supply the postal matter P at the leading end in a moving direction F to a pickup position S. The pickup mechanism 56 feeds the postal matter P supplied to the pickup position S in the plane direction of the postal matter P, in this case, a pickup direction D almost perpendicular to the moving direction F, and picks it up onto the conveyance path 101. The pickup assist mechanism 30 is arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism 56 in the pickup direction D, and assists pickup of the postal matter P. The separation portion 53 separates, from the first postal matter P, the second and subsequent postal matters P accompanying the postal matter P picked up from the pickup position S. The gap correction portion 55 corrects the gap between picked-up postal matters. The conveyance mechanism 58 extracts, at a speed slightly higher than the pickup speed, the postal matter P having passed through the gap correction portion 55, and conveys it downstream.

[0017] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the input portion 24 includes a flat bottom wall 24a, a side wall (guide wall) 24b which stands almost perpendicularly, and a front wall 24c. A stack of postal matters P is placed together on the bottom wall 24a while they stand. One side edge of the postal matters P is guided by the side wall 24b. A main belt 126 and a pair of sub-belts 125 are arranged on the bottom wall 24a of the input portion 24. The main belt 126 contacts the lower end side of each postal matter P and feeds the postal matter P in the stacking direction (direction indicated by the arrow F in FIGS. 2 and 3). The sub-belts 125 adjust the posture (tilt) of the postal matter P. The main belt 126 and sub-belts 125 can be driven independently. The main belt 126 extends along almost the overall length of the input portion 24 in the feed direction F. The sub-belts 125 are arranged on the two sides of the main belt 126 near the pickup position S.

[0018] A backup plate 9 is arranged at a position where it contacts the surface of the postal matter P at the back end in the moving direction among a plurality of postal matters P. The backup plate 9 is simply connected to, e.g., the main belt 126. The backup plate 9 moves in the moving direction F in synchronism with the main belt 126 to push the postal matters P toward the pickup position, thereby supplying the postal matter P at the leading end in the moving direction to the pickup position S. The main belt 126, the sub-belts 125, the backup plate 9, and driving motors (not shown) for driving the main belt and sub-belts function as the supply mechanism 20.

[0019] A plurality of paper sheets P are supported by the backup plate 9 and aligned along the side wall 24b on the main belt 126. A sensor (not shown) detects the presence/absence of the paper sheet P near the pickup position S. When the paper sheet P does not exist near the pickup position S, the backup plate 9 and main belt 126 move toward the pickup position to supply the paper sheet P at the leading end to the pickup position S.

[0020] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pickup mechanism 56 includes an air chamber 52, a vacuum pump 61 (or equivalent) serving as an air drawing source connected to the air chamber via a valve device (not shown), an endless pickup belt 79 serving as a pickup member which sucks and picks up the postal matter P, and a driving motor 81 which drives the pickup belt 79. A plurality of through holes (suction holes) 84 are formed in the pickup belt 79. The pickup belt 79 is wound and stretched around a plurality of pulleys 80 and a driving pulley 83 so that at least a partial region of the pickup belt 79 faces the postal matter P present at the pickup position S and travels in the pickup direction D (pickup direction of the postal matter P) along the pickup position S. The pickup belt 79 travels in a predetermined direction at a predetermined speed of, e.g., 4 m/s by the driving motor 81.

[0021] The air chamber 52 is positioned on the rear surface side of the pickup belt 79, i.e., on a side opposite to the postal matter P so that the air chamber 52 is adjacent to and faces the postal matter P. The vacuum pump 61 sets a negative or positive pressure in the air chamber 52. When a negative pressure is set, the air chamber 52 operates to suck and feed the postal matter P by the pickup belt 79. When a positive pressure is set, the air chamber 52 operates to separate the postal matter from the pickup belt without sucking the postal matter P. The vacuum pump 61 and air chamber 52 constitute an air drawing portion.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pickup assist mechanism 30 includes a sub-air chamber 60 arranged upstream of the pickup belt 79 in the pickup direction D, a negative pressure generator (blower drawing side) 62 connected to the sub-air chamber, an endless suction belt 64 which sucks and feeds the postal matter P, and a driving motor (step motor) 66 which drives the suction belt 64. A plurality of through holes (suction holes) 67 are formed in the suction belt 64. The negative pressure generator 62 and sub-air chamber 60 constitute an air drawing portion.

[0023] The sub-air chamber 60 has a front end opening which is open to the input portion 24, and a guide plate 40 which covers the front end opening. The guide plate 40 is formed into a rectangular shape, and is arranged to be almost flush with the front wall 24c of the input portion 24. A plurality of drawing holes 42 are formed in the entire surface of the guide plate 40. The drawing holes 42 communicate with the inside of the sub-air chamber. The suction belt 64 is wound and stretched around a plurality of pulleys 44 and a driving pulley 45 so that at least a partial region of the suction belt 64 is positioned to overlap part of the front surface of the guide plate 40, faces the postal matter P in the input portion 24, and travels in the pickup direction D (pickup direction of the postal matter P) beside the pickup belt 79. The suction belt 64 is formed to have about 1/3 of the width of the pickup belt 79. The suction belt 64 travels at a speed equal to or lower than 1/100 of the feed speed of the pickup belt 79, e.g., at 40 mm/s in the pickup direction D by the driving motor 66.

[0024] The pickup assist mechanism 30 operates to draw the postal matter P at a position spaced apart from the sub-air chamber 60 and move it to the pickup position S. In addition, the pickup assist mechanism 30 sucks and stops the second postal matter P after the trailing end of the first postal matter P passes through the sub-air chamber. As a result, the pickup assist mechanism 30 operates to prevent pickup of two postal matters P.

[0025] More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, when an unaligned postal matter P1 is supplied and set at a position (position on the upstream side of the pickup belt 79 in the pickup direction D) where the postal matter P1 does not contact the pickup belt 79, the pickup belt 79 of the pickup mechanism 56 cannot pick up the postal matter P1. In this case, the pickup assist 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 pickup direction D to feed the postal matter P1 to the pickup mechanism 56. Accordingly, the pickup mechanism 56 can continuously perform the pickup operation of the postal matter P1. At this time, the traveling speed of the suction belt 64 is equal to or lower than 1/100 of the feed speed of the pickup belt 79. After the postal matter P1 is fed from the suction belt 64 onto the pickup belt 79, it is drawn by the pickup belt 79 and easily separated from the suction belt 64.

[0026] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, in a normal pickup operation, after the first postal matter P at the pickup position S is fed in the pickup direction D by the pickup belt 79, the sub-air chamber 60 of the pickup assist mechanism 30 draws a second postal matter P2 through the drawing holes 42 of the guide plate 40 and the through holes 67 of the suction belt 64 to pull the postal matter P2 to the pickup position S, and in addition, sucks the postal matter P2 to the guide plate 40 and suction belt 64. The suction belt 64 travels at a feed speed much lower than that of the pickup belt 79. Hence, the pickup assist mechanism 30 stops the postal matter P2 to prevent simultaneous pickup of two postal matters P.

[0027] The suction belt 64 projects toward the input portion 24 from the surface of the guide plate 40 by the thickness of the suction belt 64. Part of the postal matter P2 is sucked to the suction belt 64, and a portion off the suction belt 64 is sucked to the guide plate 40, deforming the postal matter P2. As a result, a gap is generated between the postal matter P2 and a next postal matter (third postal matter) not sucked, making it easy to separate the postal matter P2.

[0028] As shown in FIG. 2, the separation portion 53 of the pickup device 10 includes a two-sheet pickup preventing block 31, and the preventing block faces a conveyance belt 72 at a gap G. An evacuation hole 28 is formed in the two-sheet pickup preventing block 31, and connected to a negative pressure generation device (vacuum pump) (not shown). When the pickup mechanism 56 simultaneously picks up two postal matters P, the two-sheet pickup preventing block 31 sucks and stops the preventing block-side postal matter not to simultaneously feed the two postal matters to the gap correction portion 55.

[0029] The gap correction portion 55 includes a sponge roller 68 and drive roller 70 which are arranged to face each other via the conveyance path. The sponge roller 68 is an elastic flexible roller, and can deform by a change of the thickness of the postal matter P. The drive roller 70 is directly driven by an AC servo motor (not shown). The postal matter P picked up by the pickup mechanism 56 is nipped between the sponge roller 68 and the drive roller 70. Rotation of the drive roller 70 is accelerated/decelerated in accordance with an instruction from a controller (not shown) to change the conveyance speed of the postal matter P and adjust the interval (gap) from a preceding postal matter P. More specifically, when the interval (gap) from a preceding postal matter P is smaller than a predetermined value, the gap correction portion 55 decreases the conveyance speed of the postal matter P to widen the interval (gap) from the preceding postal matter. When the interval (gap) is larger than the predetermined value, the gap correction portion 55 increases the conveyance speed of the postal matter P to narrow the interval.

[0030] As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance mechanism 58 includes the endless conveyance belt 72, endless conveyance belts 74 and 75, and driving motors (not shown) for driving the conveyance belts 74 and 75. The conveyance belt 72 is rotated by the power of the conveyance belt 74 via a relay belt 76. The conveyance belts 72 and 74 are installed side by side along the conveyance path. The conveyance belt 75 is installed to face the conveyance belts 72 and 74 via the conveyance path. The postal matter P picked up by the pickup mechanism 56 is conveyed by the conveyance belt 72 and the drive roller 70 of the gap correction portion 55. The postal matter P is further nipped between the conveyance belts 74 and 75 and conveyed by them. A roller 78 arranged at a portion where the conveyance belt 75 faces the conveyance belt 72 is a spring tension roller. When a thick postal matter P is conveyed to the conveyance mechanism 58, it pushes the spring tension roller 78 and is fed to the interval between the conveyance belts.

[0031] Note that a plurality of sensors 82 are arranged on the conveyance path 101 to detect the passing postal matter P.

[0032] In the pickup device 10 having the above-described arrangement, as shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum pump 61 is operated to evacuate the inside of the air chamber 52 at a maximum drawing force and set a negative pressure. Then, the negative pressure acts on the postal matter P supplied to the pickup position S via the large number of through holes 84 of the pickup belt 79 traveling in the direction indicated by the arrow D, thereby sucking the postal matter P to the surface of the pickup belt 79. The sucked postal matter P is picked up from the pickup position S onto the conveyance path 101 along with the travel of the pickup belt 79. After the air chamber 52 is evacuated for a predetermined period to pick up the postal matter P, the evacuation is stopped, and in addition a positive pressure in the air chamber 52. Accordingly, the suction of the postal matter P is canceled, and the postal matter P is separated from the pickup belt 79. After the trailing end of the first postal matter P passes through the sub-air chamber 60, the sub-air chamber 60 sucks the second postal matter to the suction belt 64 and stops it to prevent pickup of two postal matters. Further, the suction belt 64 sucks the postal matter P and feeds it to the downstream side in the pickup direction D. By repeating these operations in a predetermined cycle, the pickup device 10 picks up one by one the postal matters P placed on the input portion 24, and feeds them to the conveyance path 101.

[0033] The pickup mechanism 56 feeds the postal matters P at the pickup position S one by one onto the conveyance path 101. When a plurality of postal matters P are fed onto the conveyance path 101 while overlapping each other, the separation portion 53 separates them one by one.

[0034] In the pickup device 10 of the postal matter processing apparatus having the above-described arrangement, the pickup assist mechanism 30 including the suction belt 64 and sub-air chamber 60 is arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism 56. Even when unaligned postal matters are supplied, they can be successively picked up. Also, pickup of two postal matters can be prevented by the frictional force of the suction belt. Accordingly, a paper sheet pickup device capable of stably picking up paper sheets at a high speed is obtained.

[0035] In the embodiment, for example, a paper sheet to be processed is not limited to a postal matter, and the present invention is applicable to various paper sheets. The width and feed speed of the suction belt are not limited to those in the above-described embodiment, and various widths and feed speeds can be selected.

[0036] While certain embodiments have been described, these embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the inventions.

Claims

1. A paper sheet pickup device (10) comprising:

an input portion (24) configured to place a plurality of paper sheets while overlapping each other;

a pickup mechanism (56) configured to pick up, one by one, the paper sheets supplied to a pickup position of the input portion; and

a pickup assist mechanism (30) configured to be arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism in a pickup direction of the paper sheet,

the pickup assist mechanism including a suction belt (64) configured to be arranged to be able to travel in the pickup direction, an air drawing portion (60, 62) configured to suck a paper sheet to the suction belt through the suction belt, and a driving motor (66) configured to drive the suction belt, and

the pickup assist mechanism sucking a paper sheet to the suction belt to feed the paper sheet to the pickup position, and while the pickup mechanism picks up the paper sheet, sucking and holding a next paper sheet.

2. The paper sheet pickup device (10) according to claim 1, wherein
the pickup mechanism (56) includes a pickup belt (79) configured to pick up a paper sheet present at the pickup position, an air drawing portion (52, 61) configured to evacuate through the pickup belt and suck the paper sheet to the pickup belt, and a driving motor (81) configured to drive the pickup belt to travel in the pickup direction, and
the driving motor (66) of the pickup assist mechanism (30) drives the suction belt at a speed lower than a traveling speed of the pickup belt.

3. The paper sheet pickup device (10) according to claim 2, wherein a width of the suction belt (64) is formed to be smaller than a width of the pickup belt (79).

4. The paper sheet pickup device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein
the air drawing portion (60, 62) of the pickup assist mechanism includes a sub-air chamber (60) configured to be open to the paper sheets in the input portion (24), a negative pressure generator (62) configured to evacuate an inside of the sub-air chamber, and a guide plate (40) configured to cover the opening of the sub-air chamber, face the paper sheets, and include a plurality of evacuation holes, and
the suction belt (64) includes a plurality of suction holes (67), and is arranged on the guide plate to overlap the guide plate.

5. A paper sheet processing apparatus (100) including a paper sheet pickup device defined in any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:

a determination unit (102) configured to determine a sorting destination of a paper sheet picked up by the paper sheet pickup device; and

a stacking unit (108) configured to stack the paper sheet sorted based on a result of the determination of the sorting destination by the determination unit.

Drawing