JPH0729706B2 - Mail processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial field of application) This invention relates to a postal matter in which, among paper sheets, the postal matter is sorted into each sorting box by the postal code described on the postal matter, for example. Regarding a processing device.

(Prior Art) A conventional postal matter processing apparatus takes out a postal matter, reads a postal code, and sorts the postal matter into sorting boxes according to the read postal code. In this device, if paper jams occur in the middle of taking out and sorting postal items, the transport path that caused the paper jam will stop, and the postal items that are transported to the transport path where the paper jam will occur will be jammed. Is collected in one reject stacking unit of the transport path in which no sheet is generated. Therefore, it was easy for the reject collection unit to become full.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the conventional apparatus, the mail items conveyed to the conveyance path where the paper jam has occurred are accumulated in the reject accumulating portion of the conveyance path where no paper jam has occurred. Therefore, the reject stacking unit is likely to become full, and each time the operator shuts down the device and takes out the mail from the full reject stacking unit, it takes time to remove this mail. There is a possibility that the processing capacity of the device may be reduced.

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and an object thereof is to prevent a delay in processing of an apparatus by promptly handling a paper jam of a mail even if the paper jam occurs. It is to provide a processing device.

[Configuration of Invention] (Means for Solving Problems) In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, a mail processing apparatus for storing a mail to which information is added in any one of a plurality of sorting ports, A supply means for supplying a matter, a take-out means for sequentially taking out the postal matter supplied by the supply means, an extracting means for extracting the information from the postal matter taken out by the take-out means, and A plurality of sorting boxes for sorting the postal matter from which information has been extracted, a reject sorting box for sorting the rejected postal matter, and a first transport path for transporting the postal matter to the sorting box or reject sorting box When,
A first stacking unit group including a first photosensor group disposed along the first transporting route and detecting the presence or absence of mail on the first transporting route; and the first stacking unit group, A plurality of sorting boxes that are provided side by side to sort the postal matter from which the information is extracted by the extraction means, a reject sorting box to sort rejected postal matter, and a postal matter in the sorting box or reject sorting box A second stacking unit group including a second transport path for transporting the mail, and a second photosensor group disposed along the second transport path for detecting the presence or absence of mail on the second transport path. And a plurality of sorting boxes that are provided together with the first and second stacking unit groups and that are to sort the mail matter from which the information has been extracted by the extraction means, and reject categories that are to sort rejected mail matter. Box and the box or reject box A third transport path for transporting the postal matter to the sorting box, and a third photosensor group arranged along the third transport path for detecting the presence or absence of the postal matter on the third transport path A stacking unit group of 3, a sorting gate that sorts the mail piece from which the information is extracted by the extracting unit, into the first, second, or third stacking unit group; and the first, second, and third photo A jam detection circuit for detecting jamming of the postal matter in the first, second, or third conveyance path based on the detection result of the sensor group, and jamming of the postal matter in the first conveyance path is detected by the jam detection circuit. In the case of stopping, the first transport path is stopped and the mail items to be sorted by the sorting box of the first stacking unit group are rejected sorting boxes of the second stacking unit group and the third stacking unit group. Sorted sequentially into reject box The gist is that it consists of a control means for opening.

(Operation) In the mail processing apparatus having the above configuration, the jam detection circuit is arranged along the first transport path for transporting the mail to the sorting box or the reject sorting box, and the mail in the first transport path is disposed. A first photosensor group for detecting the presence or absence of an object,
A second photosensor group and a sorting box or reject sorting which are arranged along the second transport path for transporting the postal matter into the second sorting box or the reject sorting box and detect the presence or absence of the postal matter on the second transporting path From the detection result of the third photosensor group which is arranged along the third transport path for transporting the postal matter in the box and detects the presence or absence of the postal matter in the third transport path
Alternatively, jamming of the postal matter in the second or third conveyance path is detected.

When the jam detection circuit detects jamming of the postal matter in the first conveyance path, the control means stops the first conveyance path. The mails to be sorted by the sorting box of the first stacking unit group are stopped while the first transport path is stopped, and the reject sorting box of the second stacking unit group and the reject sorting of the third stacking unit group Since the mail is sequentially sorted into the boxes, even if a paper jam of the mail occurs, it is possible to prevent a delay in the processing of the apparatus by promptly dealing with the paper jam.

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

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the mail processing apparatus of the present invention.

This postal matter processing apparatus takes out one postal item from the supply unit 1 one by one, reads the postal code written on the postal item, and sorts and stores it in each of the sorting boxes 15a to 15f according to the read postal code. .

The above-mentioned mail processing apparatus includes a supply unit 1, a take-out unit 3, a conveyance path 5, a reading unit 7, a step path entrance 9, sorting gates 11a to 11e, sorting conveyance paths 13a to 13f, sorting boxes 15a to 15f, and reject collection. Part 17a
.About.17f and jam / full lights 19a to 19n.

The supply unit 1 has a large number of postal items such as postcards and sealed letters set in a batch and standing state.

The take-out section 3 is a CPU 2 which will be described later with respect to the most advanced postal matter of the supply section 1.
In response to the control signal of 1, the sheets are sequentially taken out one by one and placed on the conveying path 5.

The conveyance path 5 conveys the postal matter placed by the take-out section 3.

The reading unit 7 has a photoelectric conversion element or the like, irradiates the postal matter conveyed by the conveying path 5 with light, converts the reflected light reflected from the postal matter into an electric signal, and outputs the electric signal to the CPU 21. .

The step path entrance 9 is provided in the vicinity of the entrance of the sorting gate 11a. When the postal matter is jammed in the sorting conveyance paths 13a to 13e described later, the postal code of the postal matter conveyed by the conveyance path 5 is read, It is output to the CPU 21.

The sorting gates (rollers) 11a to 11e are for sorting the postal matter passing through the stepped path entrance 9 to the sorting conveyance paths 13a to 13f according to a control signal from the CPU 21.

The sorting conveyance paths 13a to 13f are used to convey the postal matter to the sorting boxes 15a to 15f corresponding to the postal codes read by the reading unit 7.

The sorting boxes 15a to 15f are provided at the lower ends of the sorting transport paths 13a to 13f from the sorting gates 11a to 11e to the reject stacking units 17a to 17f. The sorting boxes 15a to 15f are for storing the mail items indicated by the postal code of the mail items read by the reading unit 7.

The reject stacking units 17a to 17f are provided with end portions of the respective sorting and conveying paths 13a to 13f, and the postal code read by the reading unit 7 is, for example, unreadable, or a mail that does not correspond to each sorting box 15a to 15f. It collects things.

The jam / full lamps 19a to 19n are provided with a large number of LEDs (light emitting diodes), and the upper section of the sorting boxes 15a to 15f is a section conveying path 13a.
Paper jams in ~ 13f are indicated by yellow light emission, and in the lower stage, red light emission is displayed when the storage of postal items in each of the sorting boxes 15a-15f is full. In addition, LEs are placed on the respective sorting boxes 15a to 15f.
D is provided, and the LED emits red light when the bin is full of mail. As a result, the operator can
You can quickly know the paper jam and full status of a to 15f.

FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing the configuration of the mail processing apparatus according to the present invention.

In the figure, a CPU 21 that performs various controls is connected to a take-out section control circuit 23, a conveyance motor drive circuit 25, a reading section control circuit 27, and a storage section 29.

The take-out section control circuit 23 controls, when receiving the control signal from the CPU 21, to take out the postal matter one by one from the supply section 1.

The carry motor drive circuit 25 controls driving or stopping of the carry path 5 in accordance with a control signal from the CPU 21.

The reading section control circuit 27 recognizes a character pattern according to an electric signal input from the reading section 7, determines a zip code, and outputs the zip code to the CPU 21.

The storage unit 29 has a ROM or a RAM and stores the postal code or the like read by the reading unit 7 at a predetermined address.

Further, the CPU 21 is connected to the sorting gate drive circuit 31, the jam detection circuit 33, the sorting box full display control circuit 35, and the letter leading edge detection circuit 37.

The sorting gate drive circuit 31 controls the sorting of the mail carried by the carrier path 5 and passing through the entrance 9 of the stepped path portion to the respective sorting carrier paths 13a to 13f by a control signal from the CPU 21.

The jam detection circuit 33 includes the conveyance path 5 and the sorting gate 11.
Photosensors (P _{01 to} Pn) are provided at predetermined intervals on a to 11e and the sorting conveyance path 13, and when the signal from the photosensor is in the off state, paper jam (jam) is detected and the detection signal is output to the CPU 21. It is a thing.

The division box full display control circuit 35 outputs a display signal for notifying the fullness of each division box to the division boxes 15a to 15f by a notification signal from the CPU 21 to cause the LEDs of the full division boxes to emit red light. is there.

The letter leading edge detection circuit 37 is the photo sensor (P _{01 to} P ₀₁
It detects the position of the leading edge of the mail carried by the signal from n).

Further, the CPU 21 is connected to the full detection circuit 39 and the jam / full lamp control circuit 41.

The fullness detection circuit 39 detects the fullness of the mail in each of the sorting boxes 15a to 15f by inputting a switch signal from each sorting box. When the fullness of the sorting boxes is detected, the fullness detection signal is output to the CPU 21. Is.

The jam / full light control circuit 41 controls the display of the occurrence of jam and the full state of the sorting box or the reject stacking section by the control signal from the CPU 21.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to the processing flowchart of FIG.

First, after turning on the power of the apparatus, the postal items are sequentially taken out one by one from the supply unit 1 in a standing state by the control signal from the CPU 21, and the postal items are conveyed to the reading unit 7 by the conveyance path 5 and are read by the reading unit 7. Read the zip code on the postal mail CP
Output to U21. The CPU 21 stores it in the sorting box 15c corresponding to the input zip code, and therefore, for example, the sorting gate 11c.
Control the open state.

At this time, when the mail to be conveyed is jammed in the sorting conveyance path 13, the jam detection circuit 33 detects the jam due to the OFF state of the photo sensor and outputs a detection signal to the CPU 21 (step 100).

When a jam is detected, the CPU21 will output the control circuit 2
By outputting a stop signal to the 3 and the conveyance motor drive circuit 25, the driving of the take-out section 3 and the sorting conveyance path 13c is stopped (step 110).

When the take-out vibration 3 is stopped, the CPU 21 first reads the postal code that passes through the entrance 9 of the corrugated path portion, and if the read postal code is a mail item stored in the sorting box 15c installed in the sorting conveyance path 13c, first, the reject collection unit. The mail is rejected in the stacking unit 1 by opening the sorting gate 11a for stacking on 17a.
If the read zip code is stored in a sorting box other than the sorting box 15c installed in the sorting / transporting path 13c, the read zip code is stored in the sorting box indicated by the zip code. If the postal matter passing through the stepped path entrance 9 is the postal matter stored in the sorting box 15 installed in the sorting conveyance path 13c, the CPU 21 accumulates it in the reject stacking unit 17b. For this operation, the CPU 21 controls the sorting gate drive circuit 31 to remove the mails placed on the conveyance path 5 except the reject accumulating unit 17c 17a to 17f.
The device stops after being sequentially assigned to (steps 120 to 1).
50).

In this way, the mail items stored in the sorting boxes installed on the sorting conveyance path 13c where the paper jam has occurred are sequentially sorted to the reject stacking units 17 installed on the sorting conveyance paths 13 other than the sorting conveyance path 13c.

As a result, even if a jam occurs during the transportation of mail, the mail is prevented from accumulating in one reject stacking unit, so the processing capacity of the device is not reduced, and the jam is generated in the operator. It does not bother the subsequent processing. Further, by providing the jam / full lamps 19a to 19n, it is possible to properly notify the operator of the occurrence of jam and the full condition of the sorting box.

[Effects of the Invention] As described above, according to the present invention, the jam detection circuit detects the presence or absence of postal matter in the first conveyance path, and the first photosensor group and the second conveyance path From the detection results of the second photosensor group for detecting the presence / absence of an article and the third photosensor group for detecting the presence / absence of a postal matter in the third conveyance path, the first, second, or third conveyance path Jamming of postal items is detected.

When the jam detection circuit detects jamming of the postal matter in the first conveyance path, the control means stops the first conveyance path. The mails to be sorted by the sorting box of the first stacking unit group are stopped while the first transport path is stopped, and the reject sorting box of the second stacking unit group and the reject sorting of the third stacking unit group Since the mail is sequentially sorted into the boxes, even if a paper jam of the mail occurs, it is possible to prevent the delay in the processing of the apparatus by promptly dealing with the paper jam.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the mail processing apparatus of the invention, FIG. 2 is a control block diagram showing an embodiment of the mail processing apparatus of the invention, and FIG. 3 is a block diagram of the invention. It is a processing flowchart which shows operation. 9 ... Stage path entrance 11a-11e ... Sorting gate 17a-17f ... Reject stacking unit 19a-19n ... Jam / full light 21 ... CPU, 29 ... Storage unit 31 ... Sorting gate drive circuit 33 ... … Jam detection circuit 35 …… Division box full display control circuit 37 …… Letter leading edge detection circuit 39 …… Full detection circuit 41 …… Jam / full lamp control circuit

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A postal matter processing apparatus for accommodating a postal matter to which information is added in any one of a plurality of sorting ports, a supply means for supplying the postal matter, and the postal matter supplied by the supply means. And a plurality of sorting boxes for separating the mail from which the information has been extracted by the extracting means, and an extracting means for extracting the information from the mail extracted by the extracting means. A reject sorting box for sorting rejected mail items, and a first transport path for transporting mail items to the sorting box or reject sorting box,
A first stacking unit group including a first photosensor group disposed along the first transporting route and detecting the presence or absence of mail on the first transporting route; and the first stacking unit group, A plurality of sorting boxes that are provided side by side to sort the postal matter from which the information is extracted by the extraction means, a reject sorting box to sort rejected postal matter, and a postal matter in the sorting box or reject sorting box A second stacking unit group including a second transport path for transporting the mail, and a second photosensor group disposed along the second transport path for detecting the presence or absence of mail on the second transport path. And a plurality of sorting boxes that are provided together with the first and second stacking unit groups and that should be used to sort the mail items from which the information has been extracted by the extraction means, and reject categories that should be used to sort rejected mail items. Box and the box or reject box A third transport path for transporting the postal matter to the sorting box, and a third photosensor group arranged along the third transport path for detecting the presence or absence of the postal matter on the third transport path A stacking unit group of 3, a sorting gate that sorts the postal matter from which the information is extracted by the extracting unit, into the first, second, or third stacking unit group; and the first, second, and third photos. A jam detection circuit that detects jamming of the postal matter in the first, second, or third conveyance path from the detection result of the sensor group, and jamming of the postal matter in the first conveyance path is detected by the jam detection circuit. In the case of stopping, the first conveyance path is stopped and the mail items to be sorted by the sorting box of the first stacking unit group are rejected sorting boxes of the second stacking unit group and the third stacking unit group. Sorted sequentially into reject box A mail processing device, which comprises: