Booklet medium-handling device

Abstract

 A pusher main body of a pusher is supported by a spring formed by a compression coil. The rotational movement of a shaft is transmitted to the pusher main body via a pusher guide and the spring interposed between the pusher guide and the pusher main body. The pusher is brought into contact with a passbook as an object to be pushed up in a state moved into a conveying path. At this time, if load larger than a predetermined load is placed on the pusher main body, the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher main body is limited to less than the amount of pivotal movement of the shaft and the pusher guide due to elastic deformation (compression) of the spring.

Description

FIELD

[0001] The embodiment discussed herein is related to a booklet medium-handling device.

BACKGROUND

[0002] ATMs (Automated Teller Machines) and passbook-issuing machines installed in financial institutions, etc. are equipped with a page turning device in order to perform printing on a predetermined page of a passbook, or return a received passbook after closing the same.

[0003] The page turning device is equipped with a pusher mechanism that pushes up a passbook from the underside of a conveying path, thereby bending the passbook so as to facilitate turning of a page.

[0004] For example, FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate an example of movement of a pusher in a conventional page turning mechanism, and this page turning mechanism 80 includes conveying rollers 82 and 86, opposed to each other across a conveying path, and conveying rollers 83 and 84, opposed to each other across the same. The page turning mechanism 80 further includes a turning roller 81 arranged coaxially with the conveying roller 82, and a pusher 85 arranged on the underside of the conveying path at a location between the conveying rollers 82 and 86, and the conveying rollers 83 and 84.

[0005] The pusher 85 pushes up a passbook 90 from below to thereby bend the same, thereby enabling the turning roller 81 to turn a page. However, the amount of bend of the passbook 90 varies depending on the thickness of a portion of the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher 85, and hence the amount of bend is not always made suitable for a page-turning operation.

[0006] For example, when the thickness of the pushed-up portion of the passbook 90 is large (e.g. a thickness of 10 sheets including a cover and intermediate sheets), the amount d3 of bend of the passbook 90 is relatively large (see FIG. 18A). Then, when the thickness of the pushed-up portion of the passbook 90 is small (e.g. a thickness of one sheet of the cover alone), the amount d4 of bend of the passbook 90 is relatively small (see FIG. 18B).

[0007] Further, as the related art, there has been proposed a page turning device that detects distribution of thickness of a page on which page-turning is executed, and assists a page-turning operation using a pusher when the detected distribution of thickness of the page is abnormal (see e.g. Japanese Laid-Open Patent Publication No. 09-66686).

[0008] However, the amount of push-up of the passbook by the pusher is constant regardless of the thickness and conditions of the passbook. For this reason, the relationship between the turning roller and a page to be turned is different each time the page-turning operation is performed.

[0009] If the amount of push-up of the passbook by the pusher is too small, there is a fear that the turning roller fails to turn a page, whereas when the amount of that is too large, there is a fear that two pages are turned, so that it is preferable to keep the amount of push-up of the passbook by the pusher within an appropriate range.

SUMMARY

[0010] It is an object of the present invention to provide a booklet medium-handling device that makes it possible to stably push up a passbook even when there is variation in the thickness or conditions of the passbook. According to an aspect of the invention, there is provided a booklet medium-handling device including a pusher mechanism that pushes up a booklet medium from an underside of a conveying path along which the booklet medium is conveyed, wherein the pusher mechanism includes a drive section, a main body that has a contact surface which is brought into contact with the booklet medium, a base portion that is connected to the drive section, and a displacement amount-limiting section configured to transmit a displacement of the base portion caused by a pushing-up movement of the drive section to the main body, and limit an amount of displacement of the main body to less than an amount of displacement of the base portion by being elastically deformed by load on the booklet medium caused by pushing-up thereof.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0011] 

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a page turning device according to an embodiment, in a conveying state;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the page turning device according to the embodiment, in a state in which pushers are moved up;

FIG. 3 is a top view of the page turning device according to the embodiment, in the state in which the pushers are moved up;

FIG. 4 is a schematic view of essential parts useful in explaining a page turning mechanism according to the embodiment;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of a pusher mechanism according to the embodiment;

FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the pusher mechanism according to the embodiment;

FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view of the pusher mechanism useful in explaining limitation of the amount of pivotal movement of a pusher main body according to the embodiment;

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the pusher mechanism when load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is small;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pusher mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is large;

FIGS. 10A and 10B illustrate operations of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is large;

FIGS. 11A and 11B illustrates operations of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is large;

FIGS. 12A and 12B illustrate operations of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is large;

FIG. 13 illustrates an operation of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is large;

FIGS. 14A and 14B illustrate operations of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment small;

FIGS. 15A and 15B illustrate operations of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is small;

FIGS. 16A and 16B illustrate operations of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is small;

FIG. 17 illustrates an operation of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is small; and

FIGS. 18A and 18B illustrate operations of a pusher in a conventional page turning mechanism.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings, wherein like reference numerals refer to like elements throughout. First, a description will be given of an overview of a page turning device (booklet medium-handling device) with reference to FIGS. 1 to 3. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the page turning device according to the embodiment, in a conveying state. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the page turning device according to the embodiment, in a state in which pushers are moved up. FIG. 3 is a top view of the page turning device according to the embodiment, in the state in which the pushers are moved up.

[0013] The page turning device 1 includes a page turning mechanism, and is mounted in an automated teller machine or a passbook-issuing machine, as a page-turning unit. Alternatively, the page turning device 1 further includes a printing mechanism, and is mounted in an automated teller machine or a passbook-issuing machine, as a recording and printing unit. The page turning device 1 is a device that turns pages of a passbook (booklet medium) fed into a conveying path.

[0014] The page turning device 1 comprises a support casing 2, movable guides 3 and 4, a conveying surface 5, a shaft 20, turning rollers 21a, 21b, and 21c, conveying rollers 22a and 22b, a shaft 30, conveying rollers 31a and 31b, and pushers 100a, 100b, and 100c.

[0015] The support casing 2 supports drive mechanisms, such as a motor and solenoids, not illustrated, the shafts 20 and 30, other drive force-transmitting mechanisms, the conveying surface 5, and so on. Each of the movable guides 3 and 4, which can be switched between a closed state and an open state by an associated drive mechanism, not illustrated, forms part of the upper surface of the conveying path when it is in the closed state, and supports a page turned up when it is in the open state. The movable guides 3 and 4 are disposed on the conveying path across the shaft 20. The conveying surface 5 is opposed to the movable guide 3 across the conveying path when the movable guide 3 is in the closed state.

[0016] The shaft 20 supports the turning rollers 21a, 21b, and 21c, and the conveying rollers 22a and 22b. The turning rollers 21a, 21b, and 21c (each corresponding to a turning roller 21, referred to hereinafter) are fixed to the shaft 20, and are rotated along with rotation of the shaft 20. The conveying rollers 22a and 22b are driven rollers which are driven for rotation by conveying rollers (drive rollers: each corresponding to a conveying roller 51, referred to hereinafter) opposed thereto across the conveying path.

[0017] The shaft 30 supports the conveying rollers 31a and 31b (each corresponding to a conveying roller 31, referred to hereinafter). The conveying rollers 31a and 31b are drive rollers which are fixed to the shaft 30, and are rotated along with rotation of the shaft 30. The conveying rollers 31a and 31b are opposed to conveying rollers (driven rollers: not illustrated) across the conveying path.

[0018] The pushers 100a, 100b, and 100c (each corresponding to a pusher 100, referred to hereinafter) are supported on a shaft, not illustrated, and are pivotally moved along with rotation of the shaft. The pushers 100a, 100b, and 100c are moved (protruded) from the conveying surface 5 into the conveying path or retraced therefrom, along with rotation of the shaft. When the pushers 100a, 100b, and 100c are moved in from the conveying surface 5, the pushers 100a, 100b, and 100c bend the passbook 90 by pushing up the same from below to thereby facilitate the turning of a page of the passbook 90 by the turning rollers 21a, 21b, and 21c. The pushers 100a, 100b, and 100c are arranged on lines L1, L2, and L3, respectively, such that they are located within the width of the passbook 90 which is conveyed on the conveying path. The pusher 100b is positioned at a laterally central portion of the passbook 90 (line L2), and the pushers 100a and 100c are positioned at laterally opposite ends of the passbook 90 (lines L1 and L3). The pusher 100c is disposed on the line L3 which is on a magnetic stripe 91 of the passbook 90. The lines L1, L2, and L3 are in an irregular arrangement in which the distance between the lines L2 and L3 is narrower than that between the lines L1 and L2. Further, the turning rollers 21a, 21b, and 21c are disposed on the lines L1, L2, and L3 are, respectively.

[0019] It should be noted that the passbook 90 used here is configured as a booklet in which a plurality of inside sheets which are relatively low in rigidity (soft) are bound in a cover which is relatively high in rigidity (hard). The passbook 90 as illustrated in FIG. 3 is in an open state with a binding stitch line in the center, and the cover of the passbook 90 is formed with the belt-like magnetic stripe 91 having a predetermined thickness. It is possible to record necessary information in the magnetic stripe 91, and information can be read from or written in the magnetic stripe 91 by a reader/writer, not illustrated.

[0020] Next, a description will be given of the arrangement of the page turning mechanism included in the page turning device 1, with reference to FIG. 4. FIG. 4 is a schematic view of essential parts useful in explaining the page turning mechanism according to the embodiment.

[0021] The page turning mechanism 10, as a mechanism for conveying the passbook 90, includes the conveying surface 5, conveying rollers 31, 51, and 61 as drive rollers, and conveying rollers 41, 22, and 71 as driven rollers. The conveying roller 61 is opposed to the conveying roller 71 across the conveying path, the conveying roller 51 is opposed to the conveying roller 22 across the conveying path, and the conveying roller 31 is opposed to the conveying roller 41 across the conveying path.

[0022] Further, the conveying path is formed by a conveying path upper surface and a conveying path lower surface. The conveying path upper surface is formed by the movable guides 3 and 4, and a guide 6, and the conveying path lower surface is formed by the conveying surface 5, and pushers 100 and 200.

[0023] The page turning mechanism 10 includes one page turning mechanism (first page turning mechanism) comprising the movable guide 3, the conveying surface 5, the guide 6, the turning roller 21, the conveying rollers 22, 31, 41, and 51, and the pusher 100. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 includes the other page turning mechanism (second page turning mechanism) comprising the movable guide 4, the conveying surface 5, the guide 6, the turning roller 21, the conveying rollers 22, 51, 61, and 71, and the pusher 200. That is, the page turning mechanism 10 has two page turning mechanisms that share the turning roller 21 and the conveying rollers 22 and 51 therebetween.

[0024] Hereinafter, to simplify the description, a description will be given of the first page turning mechanism but a description of the second page turning mechanism that performs the same operation is omitted. It should be noted that one of the first and second page turning mechanisms performs a page-turning operation for paging forward, and the other performs a page-turning operation for paging backward. For example, the first page turning mechanism performs the page-turning operation for paging forward, and the second page turning mechanism performs the page-turning operation for paging backward.

[0025] The conveying roller 51 is rotatably fixed to a shaft, not illustrated, which transmits the driving force from the motor, not illustrated. The conveying roller 51 can be moved up and down with respect to the conveying path, and when conveying the passbook 90, the conveying roller 51 has its roller surface brought into contact with the passbook 90 to urge the passbook 90 between the conveying roller 51 and the conveying roller 22, and rotates to move the passbook 90 along the conveying path.

[0026] The conveying roller 22 is rotatably supported on the shaft 20 and is driven by the rotation of the conveying roller 51. The turning roller 21 is fixed to the shaft 20 which supports the conveying roller 22. The turning roller 21 is formed of an elastic material having a relatively high frictional force, such as rubber, and includes a main body having a substantially fan-shaped cross section, and a curved surface portion of the fan-shaped part forms a friction contact surface which is brought into contact with a page to be turned. Along with rotation of the shaft 20, the turning roller 21 has its curved friction contact surface brought into contact with the page to be turned to produce friction therebetween. It should be noted that a plurality of (e.g. three) turning rollers 21 are provided on the shaft at the same mounting angle, and simultaneously urge the passbook 90 at a plurality of points (e.g. three points: left, right and center). Further, the distance from the friction contact surface to the center of the shaft is made larger than a radius of the conveying roller 22. Further, the conveying surface 5 has a recess formed in the vicinity of the turning roller 21 so as not to interfere with the turning roller 21.

[0027] The conveying roller 31 is rotatably fixed to the shaft 30 which transmits the driving force from the motor. When conveying the passbook 90, the conveying roller 31 has its roller surface brought into contact with the passbook 90 to urge the passbook 90 between the conveying roller 31 and the conveying roller 41, and rotates to move the passbook 90 along the conveying path. The conveying roller 41, which is rotatably supported by a shaft, not illustrated, can be moved up and down with respect to the conveying path, and is driven by the rotation of the conveying roller 31.

[0028] The pusher 100 is rotatably fitted on a shaft which transmits the driving force from the motor and can be moved up and down with respect to the conveying path. Along with rotation of the shaft, the pusher 100 has a pusher main body brought into contact with a portion of the cover of the passbook 90 corresponding to a page to be turned and then pushes up the passbook 90. Details of the pusher 100 will be described hereinafter.

[0029] The movable guide 3 can be switched between the closed state and the open state by a drive mechanism, not illustrated, and forms the upper surface of the conveying path in the closed state thereof. The movable guide 3 avoids interference with the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher 100 when it is in the open state. Further, the movable guide 3 supports a page turned up by the turning roller 21. The conveying surface 5 and the guide 6 form a fixed passbook-sliding surface. The fixed passbook-sliding surface extends in a forward-rearward direction of the conveying path in a manner avoiding areas where the passbook 90 can interfere with movable members, and forms part of the conveying path.

[0030] Next, a detailed description will be given of a pusher mechanism with reference FIGS. 5 to 7. FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the pusher mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of the pusher mechanism according to the embodiment. FIG. 7 is a schematic cross-sectional view useful in explaining limitation of the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher main body according to the embodiment. The pusher mechanism comprises the pusher 100 and a drive unit which drives the pusher 100. The drive unit comprises the motor, not illustrated, and the shaft (drive section) 190 which transmits the driving force from the motor.

[0031] The pusher 100 comprises the pusher main body 110, a pusher guide (base portion) 120, and a spring 130. The pusher main body 110 is pivotally supported on the shaft 190 which is inserted through a shaft insertion hole 116. The pusher main body 110 has a contact surface 111, a conveying surface 112, a tapered surface 113, a conveying surface 114, and a tapered surface 115, on a side toward the conveying surface 5. The conveying surface 112, the tapered surface 113, and the conveying surface 114 are substantially flush with the conveying surface 5 when the pusher 100 is in a state retracted from the conveying path. The tapered surfaces 113 and 115 each have a predetermined inclination with respect to the conveying surface 114 in order to reduce resistance caused by conveying the passbook 90. The contact surface 111 is brought into contact with the passbook 90, which is an object to be pushed up, when the pusher 100 is in a state moved from the conveying surface 5 into the conveying path.

[0032] The pusher guide 120 is a member formed by bending a plate-shaped sheet metal member, and has a first recess 123, which is U-shaped in cross section, at a central portion thereof, a second recess 124, which is U-shaped in cross section, at one end adjacent to the first recess 123, and a spring placing portion 125, which is tongue-shaped, at the other end adjacent to the first recess 123. The first recess 123 has stopper portions 121 on opposite sides of a bottom thereof. The first recess 123 prevents the pusher guide 120 from interfering with a drive shaft (shaft) of other movable members when the pusher 100 is in a state not protruded from the conveying surface 5. The second recess 124 has a guide hole 122 in a bottom thereof. The pusher guide 120 is fixed to the shaft 190 by inserting the shaft 190 through the second recess 124, inserting a small screw 140 through the guide hole 122, and screwing the screw 140 into a screw hole 202. The spring 130 is placed (supported) on the spring placing portion 125.

[0033] The pusher main body 110 is supported by the spring 130 formed by a compression spring. The rotation of the shaft 190 is transmitted to the pusher main body 110 via the pusher guide 120 and the spring 130 interposed between the pusher guide 120 and the pusher main body 110. At this time, if load larger than a predetermined load is placed on the pusher main body 110, an amount R2 of pivotal movement of the pusher main body 110 is limited to less than an amount R1 of pivotal movement of the shaft 190 and the pusher guide 120 due to elastic deformation (compression) of the spring 130. Therefore, the sprig 130 functions as a pivotal movement amount (displacement amount)-limiting section which limits the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher main body 110. It should be noted that the spring 130 may be a torsion spring, a helical extension spring or any other like spring, and is not limited to a spring, but may be rubber, urethane, or any other like elastic member, insofar as it limits the displacement amount by elastic deformation.

[0034] Limit amount-restricting portions 117 are in the form of window frames that open in the pusher main body 110, and limit an amount R3 of pivotal movement of the pusher main body 110 relative to the pusher guide 120 by being brought into abutment with the stopper portions 121 which move within the respective window frames. Each limit amount-restricting portion 117 is brought into abutment with an associated one of the stopper portion 121 via a lower end of the window frame thereof when the pusher main body 110 is in a state having no load placed thereon, and is brought into abutment with the associated stopper portion 121 via an upper end of the window frame thereof when the pusher main body 110 is in a state having load larger than the predetermined load placed thereon.

[0035] The stopper portions 121 which are brought into abutment with the respective limit amount-restricting portions 117 via the upper ends of the window frames with the spring 130 being compressed by not less than a predetermined amount support the pusher main body 110, in cooperation with the spring 130. Thus, the limit amount-restricting portions 117 have a function of restricting the limit amount of pivotal movement of the pusher main body 110 which the spring 130 limits, within a predetermined range.

[0036] As described above, since the amount R3 of pivotal movement of the pusher main body 110 relative to the pusher guide 120 is increased according to the load placed on the contact surface 111, the pusher main body 110 can adjust the amount of bend of the passbook 90 pushed up thereby within the predetermined range. More specifically, when the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher main body 110 is thin, the load placed on the contact surface 111 is small, so that the pusher main body 110 is pivoted by an amount of pivotal movement equal to the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher guide 120. When the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher main body 110 is thick, the load placed on the contact surface 111 is large, so that the pusher main body 110 is pivoted by less than the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher guide 120.

[0037] Next, a description will be given of changes in the pivotal movement amount according to the load on the pusher main body 110 with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. FIG. 8 is a perspective view of the pusher mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is small. FIG. 9 is a perspective view of the pusher mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body according to the embodiment is large.

[0038] If the load placed on the pusher main body 110 is small when the pusher main body 110 pushes up the passbook 90, the spring 130 is hardly compressed (see FIG. 8). Therefore, the pusher main body 110 is pivoted about the rotational axis of the shaft 190 by an amount of pivotal movement equal to the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher guide 120.

[0039] If the load placed on the pusher main body 110 is large when the pusher main body 110 pushes up the passbook 90, the spring 130 is compressed (see FIG. 9). Therefore, although the pusher main body 110 is pivoted about the rotational axis of the shaft 190, the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher main body 110 becomes smaller than the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher guide 120.

[0040] It should be noted that in a case where no or very small load is placed, the stopper portions 121 of the pusher guide 120 may be brought into abutment with the limit amount-restricting portions 117 to support the pusher main body 110. In this case, if load within the predetermined range is placed, the spring 130 is compressed and pushes the pusher guide 120, and supports the pusher main body 110 in a state in which the stopper portions 121 are not in abutment with the limit amount-restricting portions 117.

[0041] The case where the load placed on the pusher main body 110 is small includes a case where a pushed-up side of the passbook 90 in the opened state with the binding stitch line thereof in the center has a small numbers of pages, a case where the thickness of each sheet of paper of the passbook 90 is small, and so forth. On the other hand, the case where the load placed on the pusher main body 110 is large includes a case where the pushed-up side of the passbook 90 in the opened state with the binding stitch line thereof in the center has a large number of pages, a case where the thickness of each sheet of paper of the passbook 90 is large, a case where the thickness of the cover is increased due to addition of a magnetic stripe or a seal, which is affixed to the cover, and so forth.

[0042] Next, a description will be given of an example of operations of the page turning mechanism 10 when the load placed on the pusher 100 is large, with reference to FIGS. 10A to 13. FIGS. 10A to 13 illustrate an example of the operations of the page turning mechanism 10 when the load placed on the pusher main body 110 according to the embodiment is large. The page-turning operation of the page turning mechanism 10 is described based on a case where the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher 100 is thick by way of the example of the case where the load placed on the pusher 100 is large.

[0043] The page turning mechanism 10 conveys the passbook 90 in the open state from left toward right as viewed in FIG. 10A to a predetermined position suitable for turning a page (see FIG. 10A). At this time, a page of the passbook 90, which is to be turned, is positioned under the turning roller 21. A portion of the passbook 90 in the open state with the binding stitch line in the center, including the page to be turned, is positioned above the pusher 100. In the illustrated passbook 90, the portion of the passbook 90 in the open state with the binding stitch line in the center, including the page to be turned, is relatively thick.

[0044] The page turning mechanism 10 locks the conveying roller 31 (see FIG. 10B). The page turning mechanism 10 holds the passbook 90 between the conveying roller 31 and the conveying roller 41 opposed to the conveying roller 31. This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to prevent the passbook 90 from moving to the right side as viewed in FIG. 10B when the pusher 100 pushes up the passbook 90. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 switches the movable guide 3 to the open state (see FIG. 10B). This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to prevent the movable guide 3 from interfering with the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher 100. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 retracts the conveying roller 51 from the conveying path (see FIG. 10B). This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to prevent the conveying roller 51 from blocking the bending of the passbook 90. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 causes the pusher 100 to move into the conveying path to push up the passbook 90 (see FIG. 10B). As a result, the page turning mechanism 10 bends the passbook 90 to thereby facilitate the page-turning operation performed by the turning roller 21.

[0045] At this time, since the portion of the passbook 90, including the page to be turned, is relatively thick, the load placed on the pusher 100 is larger than when the portion of the passbook 90, including the page to be turned, is relatively thin. The pusher 100 reduces the amount of push-up of the passbook 90 by compressing the spring 130 according to the load.

[0046] As described above, even when the page turning mechanism 10 reduces the amount of push-up of the passbook 90, since the portion of the passbook 90, including the page to be turned, is relatively thick, an amount of d1 of bend of the passbook 90 bent using the conveying roller 22 and the pusher 100 as supports is within an appropriate range.

[0047] The page turning mechanism 10 turns up the page to be turned by rotating the turning roller 21 anticlockwise (see FIG. 11A). This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to hold the page to be turned by the turning roller 21. Then, the page turning mechanism 10 causes the pusher 100 to be retracted from the conveying path (see FIG. 11B). As a result, the page turning mechanism 10 cancels the bend of the pages of the pushed-up passbook 90 other than the page to be turned to thereby prevent two pages from being turned.

[0048] The page turning mechanism 10 further rotates the turning roller 21 anticlockwise to turn up the page to be turned onto the turning roller 21 (see FIG. 12A). Further, the page turning mechanism 10 causes the conveying roller 51 which has been retracted from the conveying path to protrude into the conveying path (see FIG. 12B). This causes the page flipping mechanism 10 to hold the passbook 90 between the conveying roller 51 and the conveying roller 22 opposed to the conveying roller 51. Then, the page turning mechanism 10 conveys the passbook 90 from the right to the left as viewed in FIG. 12B (see FIG. 12B).

[0049] The page turning mechanism 10 switches the movable guide 3 to the closed state and rotates the conveying roller 31 clockwise to return the page turning mechanism 10 itself to the initial position (see FIG. 13).

[0050] As described above, the page turning mechanism 10 can properly perform the page-turning operation for the passbook 90 of which the portion including the page to be turned is relatively thick.

[0051] Next, a description will be given of an example of operations of the page turning mechanism 10 when the load placed on the pusher 100 is small, with reference to FIGS. 14 to 17. FIGS. 14 to 17 illustrate an example of the operations of the page turning mechanism when the load placed on the pusher main body 110 according to the embodiment is small. The page-turning operation of the page turning mechanism 10 is described based on a case where the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher 100 is thin by way of the example of the case where the load placed on the pusher 100 is small.

[0052] The page turning mechanism 10 conveys the passbook 90 in the open state from left toward right as viewed in FIG. 14A to the predetermined position suitable for turning a page (see FIG. 14A). At this time, a page of the passbook 90, which is to be turned, is positioned under the turning roller 21. A portion of the passbook 90 in the open state with the binding stitch line in the center, including the page to be turned, is positioned above the pusher 100. In the illustrated passbook 90, the portion of the passbook 90 in the open state with the binding stitch line in the center, including the page to be turned, is relatively thin.

[0053] The page turning mechanism 10 locks the conveying roller 31 (see FIG. 14B). The page turning mechanism 10 holds the passbook 90 between the conveying roller 31 and the conveying roller 41 opposed thereto. This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to prevent the passbook 90 from moving to the right side as viewed in FIG. 14B when the pusher 100 pushes up the passbook 90. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 switches the movable guide 3 to the open state (see FIG. 14B). This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to prevent the movable guide 3 from interfering with the passbook 90 pushed up by the pusher 100. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 retracts the conveying roller 51 from the conveying path (see FIG. 14B). This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to prevent the conveying roller 51 from blocking the bending of the passbook 90. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 causes the pusher 100 to move into the conveying path to push up the passbook 90 (see FIG. 14B). As a result, the page turning mechanism 10 bends the passbook 90 to thereby facilitate the page-turning operation performed by the turning roller 21.

[0054] At this time, since the portion of the passbook 90, including the page to be turned, is relatively thin, the load placed on the pusher 100 is smaller than when the portion of the passbook 90, including the page to be turned, is relatively thick. The pusher 100 pushes up the passbook 90 without compressing the spring 130 because the load is small. At this time, the pusher 100 pushes up the passbook 90 without reducing the amount of push-up of the passbook 90.

[0055] As described above, even when the portion of the passbook 90, including the page to be turned, is relatively thin, since the page turning mechanism 10 does not reduce the amount of push-up of the passbook 90, an amount d2 of bend of the passbook 90 which is bent using the conveying roller 22 and the pusher 100 as the supports is within an appropriate range.

[0056] The page turning mechanism 10 rotates the turning roller 21 anticlockwise to turn up the page to be turned (see FIG. 15A). This causes the page turning mechanism 10 to hold the page to be turned by the turning roller 21. Further, the page turning mechanism 10 causes the pusher 100 to be retracted from the conveying path (see FIG. 15B). As a result, the page turning mechanism 10 cancels the bend of the pages of the pushed up passbook 90 other than the page to be turned to thereby prevent two pages from being turned.

[0057] The page turning mechanism 10 further rotates the turning roller 21 anticlockwise to turn up the page to be turned onto the turning roller 21 (see FIG. 16A). Further, the page turning mechanism 10 causes the conveying roller 51 which has been retracted from the conveying path to move into the conveying path (see FIG. 16B). As a result, the page turning mechanism 10 holds the passbook 90 between the conveying roller 51 and the conveying roller 22 opposed thereto. Then, the page turning mechanism 10 conveys the passbook 90 from right toward left as viewed in FIG. 16B (see FIG. 16B).

[0058] The page turning mechanism 10 switches the movable guide 3 to the closed state, and rotates the conveying roller 31 clockwise to return the page turning mechanism 10 itself to the initial position (see FIG. 17).

[0059] As described above, the page turning mechanism 10 can properly perform the page-turning operation for the passbook 90 of which the portion including the page to be turned is relatively thin.

[0060] Further, even when a passbook has variation in thickness and conditions thereof, the page turning mechanism 10 can stably perform an operation for pushing up the passbook to thereby realize an appropriate page-turning operation.

[0061] Further, the page turning mechanism 10 expands the range of accommodating variations in thickness and conditions of the passbook. For example, it is possible to increase the movable range (upward movement range) of the pusher 100 e.g. from a conventional range between 3 mm and 5 mm to a range between 2 mm and 8 mm.

[0062] Although in the illustrated example, the spring 130 limits the amount of pivotal movement of the pusher main body 110, if the pusher main body 110 is configured, for example, to perform a rectilinear motion in the vertical direction, the amount of movement (displacement amount) in the rectilinear direction may be limited.

[0063] According to the above-described booklet medium-handling device, even when a passbook has a variation in thickness and conditions thereof, it is possible to stably perform the operation of pushing up the passbook.

[0064] All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended for pedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor to furthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitation to such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does the organization of such examples in the specification relate to a showing of the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although the embodiments of the present invention have been described in detail, it should be understood that various changes, substitutions, and alterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

Claims

1. A booklet medium-handling device comprising a pusher mechanism that pushes up a booklet medium from an underside of a conveying path along which the booklet medium is conveyed,
wherein said pusher mechanism comprises:

a drive section;

a main body that has a contact surface which is brought into contact with the booklet medium;

a base portion that is connected to said drive section; and

a displacement amount-limiting section configured to transmit a displacement of said base portion caused by a pushing-up movement of said drive section to said main body, and limit an amount of displacement of said main body to less than an amount of displacement of said base portion by being elastically deformed by load on the booklet medium caused by pushing-up thereof.

2. The booklet medium-handling device according to claim 1, wherein said base portion has a limit amount-restricting portion configured to transmit the displacement of said base portion to said main body, when said displacement amount-limiting section is in a state elastically deformed by not less than a predetermined amount.

3. The booklet medium-handling device according to claim 2, wherein said drive section is a shaft,
wherein said main body is pivotally supported on said shaft,
wherein said base portion is fixed to said shaft, and
wherein said displacement amount-limiting section transmits pivotal movement of said base portion caused by rotational movement of said shaft to said main body, and limits an amount of pivotal movement of said main body to less than an amount of pivotal movement of said base portion by being elastically deformed by the load on the booklet medium caused by pushing-up thereof.

4. The booklet medium-handling device according to claim 3, wherein said base portion is a plate-shaped member having a length in a direction of a turning radius thereof, and comprises one end fixed to said shaft, the other end supporting said displacement amount-limiting section, as a supporting portion, and an intermediate portion having the limit amount-restricting portion.

5. The booklet medium-handling device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, comprising:

a first pair of conveying rollers opposed to each other in a vertical direction across the conveying path; and

a turning roller disposed coaxially with one of said first pair of conveying rollers, which is positioned above the conveying path, for turning a page of the booklet medium,

wherein the contact surface is brought into contact with the booklet medium together with the one of said first pair of conveying rollers, which is positioned above the conveying path, when the other of said first pair of conveying rollers positioned under the conveying path is in a state retracted from the conveying path.

6. The booklet medium-handling device according to claim 5, comprising a second pair of conveying rollers opposed to each other in the vertical direction across the conveying path, which are positioned apart from said first pair of conveying rollers in a conveying direction by a predetermined distance,
wherein the contact surface is brought into contact with the booklet medium between said first pair of conveying roller pairs and said second pair of conveying rollers which hold the booklet medium in a sandwiching manner.

7. The booklet medium-handling device according to claim 6, wherein the booklet medium has portions which are different in thickness in a direction of a width thereof, and
wherein a plurality of said pusher mechanisms are provided in a manner associated with the portions which are different in thickness in the direction of the width of the booklet medium.

Drawing