JPH11199089A - Paper feeder - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [PROBLEMS] To prevent mistakes in setting paper sheets in a hopper. A stagnant conveyance path (13) that can reversely convey a sheet (3).
And a mechanism for activating the movable pressing mechanism 14 at the time of reversing, thereby forming a compact reversing mechanism.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an automatic cash transaction apparatus installed in a financial institution, and more particularly to an apparatus for handling statement slips, passbooks, and the like.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in an automatic cash handling apparatus,
In a sheet feeding apparatus as disclosed in JP-A-3-221492 and JP-A-4-25481, the setting direction of the sheets to be set in the hopper varies, and the setting direction of the sheets is not considered. Many. In addition, it is well known that the skew of the paper sheet during the feeding conveyance is corrected by a skew correction roller or the like in the conveyance path, and when double feed occurs, the paper sheet is collected in a collection box by checking the length of the paper sheet. It is a fact.

[0003]

As described above, a hopper is usually installed also in the printing mechanism. Therefore, if a hopper is installed in another place, if the paper sheet is set in a different direction, it is difficult to set the hopper. It is easy to make mistakes. Further, when a double feed occurs, the sheet is wastefully used, for example, detected by a detection sensor or the like and collected in a collection box.

[0004] An object of the present invention is to take into account the setting direction of paper sheets, and even if a double feed that overlaps with a shift in the transport direction occurs with a simple structure, at least one of the sheets is normally recovered without immediate collection. An object of the present invention is to provide a paper sheet supply device that can be handled and can also perform skew correction.

[0005]

In order to achieve the above object, a plurality of hoppers are provided above the paper sheet printing mechanism so that the hopper of the printing mechanism has the same setting direction as the hopper of the printing mechanism. By providing a transport path (switchback transport path) that can be stagnated before transport, it is possible to unify the paper sheet setting direction.

Further, a pressing roller, a conveying roller, and a drive motor for pressing a sheet in a thickness direction on a conveying path which can be stagnated are provided, and a sensor for detecting a conveying posture in the middle of the conveying path determines whether skew correction is necessary. When the skew correction is required, the skew-corrected conveyance path is controlled to be conveyed to the printing unit after the skew correction. Also, when a double-fed sheet overlapped with a shift in the conveyance direction is conveyed. One sheet is handled normally, and the other sheet is evacuated and controlled in a stagnable transport path, so that when the same sheet is issued, it can be issued continuously without being collected. ,
Even in the case where double feeds shifted in the transport direction occur, normal handling of at least one sheet can be achieved without immediate collection.

[0007]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, an embodiment of the paper sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 is an overall view showing the internal structure of the sheet feeding apparatus, as viewed from the side.

As is apparent from this drawing, the paper sheet supply device is largely divided into an upper part and a lower part, and up to four kinds of paper sheets (for example, a specification handled by a financial institution, etc.) Four hoppers on which sheets can be set are arranged, and a printing unit 20 for performing desired printing on the sheets and a hopper for setting the sheets are arranged at the lower part.

The conventional sheet feeding apparatus has only the above-described lower side and has limited types of statement slips, and the number of statement slips is limited, so that many sheets cannot be handled.

When a staff member or the like sets paper sheets on a hopper arranged above the paper sheet feeding apparatus shown in FIG. 1, the push plate 1 of the hopper is pushed down by hand to change the printing surface of the paper sheets 3. A predetermined number of sheets are set on the push plate 1 of the hopper with the upper side.
Then, the lock lever 2 of the hopper is returned to release the latch of the push plate 1 of the hopper.

When the separation rollers 4 are driven by the gear motor 6 after the sheets are set on the hopper, the sheets 3 are separated one by one and fed out to the conveyance path. The gate member 5 has a function of preventing overlapped conveyance of fed paper sheets.

The paper sheet 3 fed out from the hopper is guided by the transport guide 7 from the left side to the right side in the drawing, and reaches the transport roller 8. The passage detection sensor 11 located below the hopper is a sensor for detecting passage of the paper sheet 3, and when the trailing end of the paper sheet 3 is detected, the drive of the gear motor 6 is stopped and the feeding from the hopper is completed. During this time, the leading end of the paper sheet 3 reaches the position where the conveyance roller 8 starts biting, and the paper sheet 3 is pressed against the conveyance roller 8. In this figure, since it is a view from the side, it is difficult to understand, but two transport rollers 8 are attached to the shaft in pairs. Therefore, even if the paper sheet 3 skews and reaches the transport roller 8 in the separated state, the tip is aligned and the skew is corrected in a state where the two left and right transport rollers 8 are pressed to the engagement start position. You.

Next, when the stepping motor 10 is started, the timing belt 9 is driven, and the transport roller 8 is rotated in the forward direction, the paper sheet 3 is caught by the transport roller 8 and transported (see the drawing). From left to right). Subsequently, the paper sheet 3 reaches the entrance of the stagnant conveyance path 13 while blocking the optical axis of another passage detection sensor 11 for detecting the occurrence of a jam or the like on the way.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view showing the vicinity of the stagnant conveyance path 13 in detail. The pressing roller 14 provided in the stagnant conveyance path 13 is normally retracted to the position shown by the broken line by the return spring 17 attached to the pressing link 15. The sheet 3 arriving at the entrance of the stagnant transport path 13 is transported by the transport rollers 12 and gradually enters the stagnant transport path 13. Normally, since double feed (feeding of two sheets) does not occur, when the passage detection sensor 25 detects the passage of the rear end of the paper sheet 3, the stepping motor 10 is stopped. In this state, the sheet 3 enters the stagnant conveyance path 13, and the rear end of the sheet 3 is caught by the conveyance roller 12.

Next, a reversing operation of transporting the paper sheet 3 stagnating in the stagnant transport path 13 to a printing unit provided at the lower side of the paper sheet feeding apparatus of FIG. 1 will be described.

First, the normal case will be described. Since skew and double feed have not occurred, the gate drive solenoid 18 is energized in this state,
The switching gate 19 is switched in the reverse direction (the position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 2), and the transport roller 12 is rotated in the reverse direction by rotating the stepping motor 10 in the reverse direction. Then, it is conveyed to the next printing unit 20 as it is. When the paper sheet 3 is conveyed to the stagnant conveyance path 13, the switching gate 19 is at a position indicated by a broken line, and is switched to a solid line position when the paper sheet 3 is conveyed from the stagnant conveyance path 13.

As described above, since the paper sheet 3 is set on the hopper with the print surface facing upward, the paper sheet 3 fed out of the hopper remains printed face up even when being conveyed in the conveyance path. It is transported as it is. Then, the sheet is conveyed to the conveying path on the lower side of the sheet feeding apparatus in a state where the leading end and the rear end of the sheet are reversed in the stagnant conveying path 13. At the lower side, as is clear from FIG. 1, the printing surface of the paper sheet 3 is conveyed from right to left in the drawing with the printing surface facing upward, and the printing unit 20 performs desired printing.

As will be described later, the paper sheet 3 is also set on the hopper 23 at the lower side of the paper sheet supply apparatus in FIG. Therefore, even when the upper hopper group of the paper sheet feeding device is installed above the mechanism having the printing unit 20, the reversing operation of the paper sheets 3 by the above-described stagnant conveyance path 13 is performed. Can be set in the same direction as that of the paper sheet, and there is an effect of preventing the setting direction from being mistaken.

Next, the processing in the stagnant conveyance path 13 when a skew (inclined conveyance) and a double feed occur when the paper sheet 3 is fed out or the like will be described in detail.

The paper sheet 3 fed out of the hopper is conveyed from left to right in the drawing by driving the conveying rollers 8 and the like in FIG. 1, and is located downstream of the conveying path, that is, the stagnant conveying path shown in FIG. 13, the paper sheet 3 is conveyed.

When a skew occurs during the process of transporting the paper sheet 3 or the like, the skew of the paper sheet 3 is detected by the skew detection sensor 25 shown in FIG. By this detection, the sheet 3 is conveyed to the position of the sheet 3 shown in FIG. Then, the pressing solenoid 16 is energized to operate the pressing link 15 to the position shown by the solid line in the figure, and the rear end of the paper sheet 3 conveyed by the pressing roller 14 and the driving roller 29 is engaged. Here, the drive roller 29 is driven to convey the paper sheet 3 to the lower side of the drawing, and the leading end thereof (the rear end when the paper sheet 3 is conveyed to the stagnant conveyance path 13, is conveyed from the stagnant conveyance path 13). Is pressed against the conveying roller 12 to align the leading ends to correct the skew. Thereafter, the transport roller 12 is driven by the stepping motor 10 to transport the paper sheet 3 to the printing unit 20 side as described above.

In the case where the conveyance direction is shifted and overlapped in the course of conveying the paper sheets 3 and double feed occurs, a plurality of passage detecting sensors 11 provided on a conveying path provided along a plurality of hoppers shown in FIG. Thus, the occurrence of double feed can be found by calculating and judging the length abnormality of the paper sheet 3 in the middle of the conveyance from the light shielding time during passage.

When the stacked sheets are taken into the stagnant conveying path 13, the trailing end of the last sheet 3 arriving at the stagnating conveying path 13 is detected by the passage detecting sensor 25. Stop 10 The state of the sheets at this time is such that the rear end of the first sheet 3 at the top has already passed through the transport roller 12 and the rear end of the second sheet 3 It is in a state of being bitten.
The second sheet is transported to the printing unit 20 by driving the transport roller 12.

Another paper sheet 3 remaining in the stagnant conveyance path 13
Is stagnant and can be used for the next transaction. Therefore, there is an effect that the separating operation from the hopper can be omitted. As described above, the remaining paper sheets are conveyed to a position where they are not bitten by the conveyance roller 12, so that they cannot be moved forward or backward. For this reason, the pressing solenoid 16 is energized to operate the pressing link 15 to the position indicated by the solid line in the drawing, and the pressing roller 14 presses the paper sheet 3 left in the stagnant conveyance path 13 against the driving roller 29 having a driving force. Then, similarly, the sheet is retreated from the stagnant conveyance path 13 and is conveyed to the next printing unit 20.

FIG. 3 is a view showing another embodiment of the stagnant conveyance path 13. As shown in FIG.

At the end of the stagnant transport path 13, a stagnant transport path 13
A stopper 28 is provided to push back the leading end of the paper sheet 3 conveyed to the printer, and the stopper 28 is pulled backward by the stopper return solenoid 27 when the paper sheet 3 is retracted. The pushed back paper sheet is pressed against the position of the conveyance roller 12 at the entrance of the stagnant conveyance path, so that the skew can be corrected in the same manner as in the case of the skew described above.

Further, if a similar pushing mechanism (not shown) is installed also in the width direction of the stagnant conveyance path 13 (from the front to the back in the drawing), the sheet 3 is skewed from the center. The center shift is also corrected. These correction mechanisms are, for example, as in the present embodiment, since the sheets separated from the end hopper (the hopper installed on the leftmost side in FIG. 1) pass through a considerably long transport path, For example, if the outer diameter of the rollers that make up the transport path fluctuates or the rollers become dirty, even the paper sheets that were initially in the center in the initial state will be in contact with either the left or right wall during the transport. It is possible that the center will be deviated by this time. Alternatively, even paper sheets that were straight in the initial state may become skewed, and may cause a jam or the like during conveyance. In order to prevent this, it is necessary to extremely control the dimensional intersection of parts, which makes processing difficult. Therefore, if such a correction mechanism is installed in the middle of the transport path, it is possible to correct a decrease in performance due to dirt or the like generated during operation, and to prevent the occurrence of a jam or the like.

Next, the operation of the printing mechanism unit on the lower side of the paper sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. Sheets fed from the front hopper 23 pass through the transport path, pass through the printing unit 20, and are transported to the image reader 22 (from left to right in the drawing). Then, the image reader 22 discriminates whether or not the sheet is the correct type. If the sheet is incorrect, the sheet is conveyed to the reject box 24. If it is correct, the sheet is conveyed to the outlet 26, that is, in the direction of arrow A, printed by the printing unit 20, and then conveyed to the outlet 26 and discharged to the customer. As another method, a barcode reader or the like can be used instead of the image reader.

Sheets fed from the four types of hoppers at the top of the above-mentioned sheet feeding apparatus are fed to the image reader 22.
The sheet is conveyed to the reject box 24 if it is correct or not.
If it is correct, it is conveyed to the printing unit 20 as it is, and after being printed, is discharged to the customer through the discharge port 26.

When the sheets 3 conveyed in a completely overlapping manner are conveyed from the stagnant conveyance path 13, the thickness detection sensor 2
1, and is collected in the reject box 24. However, if there is no concern about the occurrence of a jam in the printing unit, and considering that the frequency of occurrence of complete two sheets is low, the thickness detection sensor is used. It is also possible to discharge to a customer in a state where two sheets are overlapped, without providing 21.

When printing a plurality of sheets continuously,
In order to shorten the processing time, the sheets are separated in advance during the operation of the printing unit 20 or the like, and are stagnated in the middle of the conveyance path, for example, on a stagnable conveyance path, and the operation of the subsequent printing unit is performed. The time required for the separation operation can be shortened by executing the operation at an appropriate timing.

Further, in this configuration, since the plurality of hopper groups and the printing section following them are made independent, in actual operation, the plurality of hopper groups on the upper part of the sheet feeding apparatus are taken out and the hoppers are taken out. Since the paper can be replenished, the medium can be replenished without the apparatus being down.

[0034]

The present invention has the following effects.

By configuring the transport path on which the paper sheets can be stagnated by the switchback method, it is possible to set the paper sheets in the same direction as the paper sheets of the hopper on the printing side, and there is an effect of preventing an incorrect setting direction. .

Alternatively, a roller, a transport roller, and a drive motor for pressing the sheets in the thickness direction are provided on a transport path in which the sheets have a curved shape and the dimensions are longer than the sheets. By providing such a member, it is possible to correct the conveyance posture such as skew and shift in the width direction.

Further, the paper path having a curved structure and a dimension longer than that of the paper sheet can be stagnated.
By providing a roller for pressing paper sheets in the thickness direction, a conveyance roller, and a drive motor, at least one sheet can be normally handled even if a double feed that is shifted in the conveyance direction occurs.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is an internal structural view showing a paper sheet feeding apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of a stagnant conveyance path 13 in FIG.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing another embodiment of the stagnant conveyance path 13;

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Hopper push plate, 2 ... Hopper lock lever, 3 ...
Paper sheets, 4 ... separation roller, 5 ... gate member, 6 ... gear motor, 7 ... conveyance guide, 8 ... conveyance roller, 9 ... timing belt, 10 ... stepping motor, 11 ... passage detection sensor, 12 ... conveyance roller, 13 … Stagnant transport path, 14…
Pressing roller, 15 pressing link, 16 pressing solenoid, 17 return spring, 18 gate driving solenoid, 19 switching gate, 20 printing section, 21 printing section
Thickness detection sensor, 22: Image reader, 23: Front hopper, 24: Reject box, 25: Passage detection sensor (skew detection sensor), 26: Discharge port, 27: Stopper return solenoid, 28: Stopper, 29: Drive roller (Transport roller)

Continued on the front page (72) Inventor Akito Ishiguro 1 Ikegami, Haruoka-cho, Owariasahi-shi, Aichi Prefecture Inside the Information Equipment Division, Hitachi, Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A sheet feeding apparatus, wherein a plurality of hopper groups for collectively setting a plurality of sheets and a printing unit for performing printing on the sheets are independently divided, wherein: The hopper group includes a separation unit that separates the sheets of each hopper, a conveyance path that conveys the sheets fed from the separation unit, and a stagnation that reverses the conveyance direction of the sheets from normal to reverse. A conveying path, and conveys the sheets fed from the hopper to the stagnant conveying path through the conveying path, and changes the conveying direction of the sheets in the stagnating conveying path; Paper feeding apparatus, wherein the papers are conveyed to the printing section, and the printing section performs printing on the paper sheets. 2. The paper sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The stagnant transport path includes a transport roller that transports the paper sheet, a pressing roller that presses the end face of the paper sheet, and a sensor that detects a skew of the paper sheet, and the sensor transports the paper sheet to the stagnant transport path. When detecting the skew of the paper sheet, the paper sheet is stopped at a position where the rear end of the paper sheet passes through the transport roller, and the pressing roller presses the rear end of the paper sheet so that the rear end thereof is aligned. A sheet feeding apparatus characterized by the above-mentioned. 3. The paper sheet feeding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein
The conveyance path has a sensor for detecting the length of the paper sheet, and determines a double feed of the paper sheet according to information from the sensor.When the double feed is determined, the paper sheet is overlapped. A sheet feeding apparatus, wherein the sheet is conveyed to the stagnant conveying path in a state, and one of the stacked sheets is conveyed to the printing unit after changing one conveying direction.