JPH05178515A - Paper sheet collection device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To automatically sort out only paper sheets judged to be faulty from proper paper sheets. CONSTITUTION:The extreme rear sections of sheet carrying lines 22, 23, 25, 31 and 34 are branched at two positions, thereby forming two proper sheet collection lines 37 and one improper sheet collection line 37a. Also, collection side gates 38 and 38a for selecting one of the three lines 37 and 37a are provided at the two branched positions. In addition, two stackers 39 for collecting properly printed sheets, and a reject stacker 39a for collecting defective sheets without proper print are respectively provided at the ends of the lines 37 and 37a. When a sheet is judged to be improper by a sheet length sensor 45, a double feed sensor 46 or the like, the gates 38 and 38a perform a spring return motion, on timing corresponding to the improper sheet. As a result, the improper sheet enters the reject stacker 39a via the line 37a selected with the gates 38 and 38a.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a paper collecting device that can be used for all office machines equipped with a paper conveying line.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a printing apparatus for printing prescribed requirements on forms such as bills and checks, a sheet storage stacker is arranged at the end of a sheet transport line for transporting sheets one by one, and they have been sequentially transported. The paper is collected one by one.

Conventionally, both the properly printed and properly printed sheets and the defective sheets that are not properly printed are collected in the same sheet storage stacker.

[0004]

Therefore, conventionally, it is necessary to sort out whether the printed sheets are good or bad. Whether the sheets taken out by the operator from the stacker should be reviewed and sorted when the storage is completed. Or, the paper collection is constantly monitored and the work such as removing the defective paper is carried out during the collection, but there is a problem from the viewpoint of work efficiency, reliability and personnel reduction.

The present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and an object of the present invention is to provide a paper collecting apparatus capable of automatically selecting and collecting only paper judged to be defective from proper paper. It is a thing.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION According to the present invention, in a sheet collecting device provided at the end of a sheet conveying line for conveying sheets one by one, a sheet judged to be proper in the sheet conveying line is properly treated. A proper paper storage stacker that collects via the paper collection line, a defective paper storage stacker that collects paper that is judged to be inappropriate on the paper transport line via the defective paper collection line, and an operation based on the judgment on the paper transport line It is a sheet collecting device including a gate for selectively selecting the proper sheet collecting line and the defective sheet collecting line.

[0007]

According to the present invention, when it is determined that the paper in the paper carrying line is defective, the gate operates so that the paper carrying line communicates with the defective paper collecting line at a timing corresponding to the paper, and the defective paper is conveyed. Only the defective paper storage stacker is collected.

[0008]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing the outline of a printing apparatus equipped with the paper collecting apparatus of the present invention. First, the printing apparatus will be described as a whole. Each unit is controlled by a central processing unit (CPU).

At the first part of the paper transportation line, papers of forms (bills, checks, etc.) are stored according to type (main paper, front cover, receiving paper, back cover, partition paper, etc.), and the papers are conveyed on the paper transportation line. A plurality of hoppers (for example, two hoppers 21a for a main sheet, a hopper 21b for a cover sheet, a hopper 21c for a receiving sheet, a hopper 21d for a back cover sheet, a hopper 21e for a partition sheet) which are sequentially sent out in the order designated by are installed. Paper hopper 21
The a can hold 1000 x 2, and the other hoppers can hold 500.

A plurality of sheet conveying lines 22 drawn out from each of the hoppers 21a to 21e are unified to form a sheet check line 23, and a bar code attached to the sheet faces the sheet check line 23. A bar code reader 24 is provided for checking the type of paper by reading the paper check line 23. Further, the paper check line 23 is branched into a plurality of printer carry-in lines 25, and the printer carry-in line is provided at each branch portion.
A supply side gate 26 for selecting 25 is provided, and a plurality of printers 27 are provided at the tip of each printer carry-in line 25 for printing predetermined requirements only on the paper judged to be appropriate by the bar code reader 24. Is provided.

The sheet conveying line is composed of a pair of guide plates provided in parallel and a large number of rollers which will be described later and are inserted into the guide plates.

Further, a plurality of printer carry-out lines 31 drawn out from each of the printers 27 are unified and a shutter 32 is provided.
And is connected to a magnetic printing machine (MICR encoder) 33 via. Hereinafter, this magnetic printing machine 33 is referred to as MICR. Further, a shutter 35 is also provided on the paper carrying line 34 on the carry-out side of the MICR 33.

Then, each of the above lines 22, 23, 25, 31,
The following paper collecting device is connected to the rearmost part of the paper conveying line composed of 34.

In this paper collecting apparatus, two proper paper collecting lines 37 and one defective paper collecting line 37a are formed by branching at two places, and three collecting lines 37, 37a are provided at each branching portion. The collecting side gates 38 and 38a are provided to selectively select the two appropriate paper storage stackers (hereinafter, referred to as the “good paper storage stacker”) for collecting the properly printed paper at the tip of each of the collection lines 37 and 37a. The proper paper storage stacker is simply referred to as the stacker 39) and the defective paper storage stacker that collects the defective paper that is not properly printed (hereinafter, this defective paper storage stacker is referred to as the reject stacker 39a).
And are provided.

Next, the respective parts will be explained. In each of the hoppers 21a to 21e, a feed roller 41 for feeding the papers in the hopper one by one to one side where a large number of papers stored inside are pressed. Is provided. Each of these hoppers 21a-21
The feed rollers 41 of e are driven by the feed motors 41a, respectively, and feed the sheets one by one. Further, the presence or absence of the paper in the hopper is detected by an empty sensor 42 (reflection type photo sensor). Further, in order to prevent double feeding of the paper, a double feed prevention roller 43 that rotates in the direction opposite to the paper feeding direction and gives a light resistance to one side of the paper is provided at the hopper outlet, and reverse rotation is performed by the reverse motor 43a. Has been done.

A common motor is used for the paper transport line 22.
A large number of paper conveying rollers 13a driven by the rotation transmission mechanism 12a by the 11a, and a large number of jam sensors 44 (reflective type) that confirm the paper feeding from each of the hoppers 21a to 21e and detect the presence of a jam (JAM) state. Photo sensor). The paper carrying roller 13a carries a paper by sandwiching the paper between a roller on one side which is always driven in the normal direction and a roller on the other side which faces the roller.

The jammed state is an abnormal state in which the sheet is not conveyed smoothly such as a paper jam in the conveying line, and the corresponding jam sensor 44 does not operate even if a predetermined time elapses after the feed motor 41a is activated. When the paper is not sensed, it can be detected that the paper is jammed at the feeding portion before the jam sensor 44. Each jam sensor 44
Check the paper passing time between the
Jam detection between 44 can also be performed.

The jam sensors 44 provided corresponding to the hoppers 21a to 21e are provided not only for the abnormality detecting function but also for stopping the feed motor 41a of the corresponding hoppers 21a to 21e when the paper is detected. It also has a function of stopping the sheet feeding by the feed roller 41.

Then, the paper sent by the feed roller 41 from one of the hoppers 21a to 21e corresponds to the jam sensor.
If the jam sensor 44 detects this, the feed motor 41a is stopped by this jam sensor 44.At this time, however, the constantly rotating paper transport roller 13a located in front of the jam sensor 44 is pinching the paper, so the roller 13a moves the paper. Transport continues without any problems. After the feed motor 41a is stopped, the feed motor 41a of another hopper is activated in order to take out the next sheet from the hopper.

In the unified paper check line 23, not only the bar code reader 24 but also a paper length abnormality in which front and rear papers are continuously conveyed in a partially overlapping form,
A paper length sensor 45 (reflection type photo sensor) for detecting from the number of pulses generated in synchronization with the paper transport speed,
A double feed sensor 46 (reflective photo sensor) that detects an abnormality in the thickness of two sheets conveyed in a state where they are completely overlapped via a movable member that rotates by engaging with a sheet of double-fed thickness. Sensor), a bar code sensor 47 (reflective photo sensor) that detects the edge of the paper and activates the bar code reader 24, and a jam sensor 48 (reflective photo sensor) that detects the jam condition based on the presence or absence of the paper. Is provided.

The bar code reader 24 reads the type and size of the paper from the bar code attached to the form paper, and the office computer (CP) in which the paper taken out from the hoppers 21a to 21e is set by the operator.
It is checked whether or not the paper is a proper paper type that matches the print command by U).

A paper feed control roller 49 is provided on the paper feed side of the bar code reader 24. The paper feed control roller 49 holds the paper at the bar code reader position until the printer 27 issues a paper feed command, and is driven by the motor 49a.

The plurality of printer carry-in lines 25 are provided with a large number of sheet carrying rollers 13b driven by a common motor 11b via a rotation transmission mechanism 12b.

The supply-side gate 26 provided at the branch portion of the printer carry-in line 25 is a switching blade attached to a support shaft 51 rotated by a rotary solenoid (not shown). Close the printer carry-in line and open the other printer carry-in line.

Each of the plurality of printers 27 has therein a print head (wire dot printer head) (not shown) that is moved two-dimensionally in relation to the paper while facing the required print surface of the paper. There is.

The plurality of printer carry-out lines 31 are provided with a large number of paper carrying rollers 13c driven by a common motor 11c via a rotation transmission mechanism 12c.

The shutter 32 provided on the carry-in side of the MICR 33 is driven back and forth by a solenoid to drive the MIC.
At the time of R33 magnetic printing, the paper is retracted from the paper transport line and fed into the MICR 33. At other times, it projects into the paper transport line and locks the paper. In front of the shutter 32 and on the unloading side of the MICR 33, a sheet is detected to detect the shutter 32.
Paper detection sensors 52 and 53 (reflective photosensors) for opening the paper are respectively provided. When the paper detection sensor 52 on the front side detects the paper and the paper detection sensor 53 on the carry-out side detects the carry-out of the paper from the MICR 33, the shutter 32 is opened and the paper detected by the sensor 52 is detected by M.
Carry it into the ICR33.

A common motor is used in the paper transport line 34.
A large number of paper conveyance rollers 13d driven by the rotation transmission mechanism 12d by 11d are provided.

The shutter 35 provided on the paper carrying line 34 is driven back and forth by a solenoid, and when a jam occurs in the paper collecting lines 37, 37a, the shutter 35 remains locked while protruding into the paper carrying line. In other cases, the sheet detection sensor 54 (reflective photosensor) provided on the front side detects the sheet and moves backward from the sheet conveyance line to convey the sheet to the stackers 39 and 39a.

The paper collecting lines 37, 37a are provided with a large number of paper conveying rollers 13e driven by a common motor 11e via a rotation transmission mechanism 12e.

The collecting-side gates 38, 38a are switching blades attached to a support shaft rotated by a rotary solenoid (not shown), and the tips of the switching blades close one sheet collecting line and the other sheet. Open the collection line.

When the rotary solenoid is not energized, the recovery side gates 38 and 38a are in a state (the state shown in FIG. 1) that shuts off the proper paper recovery line 37 by a spring. That is, priority is given to paper collection to the reject stacker 39a when the gate fails. Therefore, when collecting proper paper in the stacker 39 on the right side,
The gate 38 is activated each time, and the gate 38a is activated each time proper paper is collected in the central stacker 39.

The stacker for storing proper sheets in order
For 39, the jam sensor 55 (reflective photo sensor) for detecting the paper jam condition that occurred in front of the entrance, and the fact that a certain amount of paper (finally the back cover) has been stored in the stacker is detected A storage completion detection sensor 56 (reflection type photo sensor), a lock 57 for fixing the mounting state of the stacker 39 detachably provided to the printer main body,
A plurality of sensors 58 for detecting the length of the stored paper set in the stacker 39 and a sensor 59 for detecting whether or not the stacker 39 is set in the printer main body are provided.

When the paper-filled state of one stacker 39 is detected by the storage completion detection sensor 56, the operation of the recovery side gates 38 and 38a is automatically switched, and the stacker 39 of one side is transferred to the stacker 39 of the other side. The appropriate paper loading can be switched. The stacker 39 on the storage completion side releases the lock 57 and removes the stacker 39 from the main body of the printing apparatus so that the proper sheets stored inside can be taken out without breaking the storage order.

The reject stacker 39a for storing an inappropriate sheet also has a jam sensor 55a (reflective photo sensor) for detecting a sheet jam state occurring in front of the entrance of the reject stacker 39a.

Drive motor 1 for rollers 13a, 13b, 13c, 13d, 13e provided on each line 22, 25, 31, 34, 37
1a, 11b, 11c, 11d, and 11e are various jam sensors 4
It is stopped when a paper jam condition is detected by 4, 48, 55, 55a or when the open state of the device door is detected by a door open detection sensor (not shown).

In the printing apparatus having the above-mentioned structure, the printing apparatus is provided with one sheet of the type specified by the plurality of hoppers 21a to 21e in a predetermined order in response to a command from the central processing unit (CPU) (not shown). These are sent out one by one, and the type, size, thickness and the like of the paper are checked by the bar code reader 24 and various detection sensors in the vicinity of the integrated paper check line 23. Then, the proper paper compatible with the print command from the CPU is the printer carry-in line 25 selected by the plurality of supply side gates 26 by the paper feed control roller 49 which is activated only when the printer 27 to be printed is in the paper receiving state. Then, the sheets are carried in order to the selected printer 27, and the predetermined requirements are printed on the designated XY coordinates of the paper inside the printer 27.

Further, the printed paper is carried out from the printer 27 while keeping the order of carrying into the printer, and the MICR
When the sheet 33 is in the sheet receiving state, the shutter 32 is opened and the sheet is carried into the MICR 33, where magnetic printing is performed. Further, when the proper paper collecting line 37 and the stacker 39 are in the paper receiving state, the shutter 35 opens, and the proper paper is carried into the stacker 39 selected by the collecting side gate 38 or 38a and stored in the stacker 39 in order. To be done. The collection side gates 38 and 38a operate at a timing corresponding to the sheet to connect the sheet conveyance line 34 and the proper sheet collection line 37. When the storage completion detection sensor 56 detects the paper storage completion state in one of the stackers 39, the storage of the paper in the other stacker 39 is started.

On the other hand, defective paper that can be carried on each carrying line but is judged to be improper by the check by the bar code reader 24, the paper length sensor 45, the double feed sensor 46, etc. is printed by the printer 27 and the MICR 33. They are passed through without performing the above, and are stored in the reject stacker 39a through the defective paper collecting line 37a selected by the gates 38 and 38a which are spring-returned at the timing corresponding to the defective paper.

This concludes the overall description of the printer shown in FIG.

Next, the stacker 39 or the reject stacker 39a used in the sheet collecting apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to FIGS. This stacker 39, 39a
Is a cartridge-type stacker that does not have a paper feed mechanism and can be carried with paper in it. Note that the stacker 39 that collects appropriate paper and the reject stacker 39a that collects defective paper have the same structure.

As shown in FIG. 2, the container body 61 of the stacker 39 or the reject stacker 39a has a bottom rear plate 62.
The side plate 63 on one side, the side plate 64 on the other side, and the handle 65 are integrally configured by screwing with screws. The bottom back plate 62 is a bottom surface portion 62a formed by bending a single sheet metal.
, A front portion 62b and a rear portion 62c. The bottom surface portion 62a is inclined so as to descend rearward, and the rear surface portion 62c is inclined so as to recede as it rises. The handle
65 is a convex portion 65 integrally formed on the side plates 63 and 64 on both sides.
It is screwed between a.

On the side plate 63 on one side, the paper P is stored in the container body 61.
A paper input port 66 for inputting one sheet at a time is provided therein. A paper tilting guide 67 is provided from the left side of the upper part of the paper input port 66 toward the inside to press the relatively upper part of the paper P in association with the loading operation. This paper tilt guide 67
A part of an upper plate 68 screwed between the upper portions of the side plates 63 and 64 on both sides is bent and formed, and is provided so as to be inclined to the right side when viewed from the sheet entrance direction. At the tip of the paper tilt guide 67, a projection plate 69 that further tilts to the right is projected.

The base end of the leaf spring 71 is attached by a screw to the inner side surface of the side plate 63 on the right side of the lower portion of the sheet feeding port 66, and the inward direction from the lower right side of the sheet feeding port 66. Is projected to. The leaf spring 71 presses the lower portion of the paper P to the side opposite to the paper tilt guide 67 to twist the paper.

Between the side plates 63 and 64 on both sides, an inversion prevention rod 72 for locking the upper portion of the sheet tilted at the time of insertion to prevent excessive sheet inversion is screwed in parallel with the handle 65. There is.

As shown in FIG. 3, the front end portion 71a of the leaf spring 71 is bent in the sheet inserting direction and is inserted so as to overlap the lower side of the sheet tilt guide 67. A sheet edge guide 74 having a sheet insertion recess 73 into which the leaf spring 71 is fitted is fixed to the bottom rear plate 62 along the side plate 63 on one side. The paper end guide 74 is for aligning the rear end of the paper P loaded on the bottom surface in the main body of the container.

As shown in FIG. 4, a plurality of sensor windows 81 are provided on the back surface portion 62c of the bottom back plate, and the bottom back plate is provided so as to correspond to the respective sensor windows 81. Screw holes 82 are bored in the front surface portion 62b and the rear surface portion 62c, and the mounting plate portions 84a and 84b of the middle partition plate 84 are fixed by screws 83 screwed into the screw holes 82.

When the stacker is set in the printer main body, one of a plurality of paper length detecting sensors 58 (FIG. 1) provided on the printer main body side passes through the sensor window 81 to form the partition. This partition plate detects the plate 84.
It can be confirmed whether or not the distance between the sheet 84 and the sheet edge guide 74 corresponds to the length of the sheet to be handled. That is, this stacker has a paper length recognition function.

Next, the operation of the stackers 39 and 39a will be described.

Paper P conveyed one by one by a paper conveying roller 13e (FIG. 1) provided on the printer main body side.
2 jumps into the container body 61 from the left side of FIG. At that time, the paper tilt guide 67 pushes the upper part of the paper to the right when viewed from the entrance direction, and the leaf spring 71 bounces the lower part of the paper to the left when viewed from the entrance direction. The reverse force applied to the top and bottom of this sheet gives each sheet a forcible twist so that the right side of the sheet faces downward when viewed from the entrance direction, and the inversion prevention rod
It is surely tilted to the 72 side.

On the other hand, while the paper P is entering the container main body 61 from the input port 66, the upper portion of the tilted paper Pa is locked by the inversion prevention rod 72 as shown in FIG. Therefore, excessive paper reversal is prevented.

Then, when this sheet is completely loaded into the container main body 61, the sheet in the tilted state falls off by its own weight and comes off the reversal prevention rod 72 to further fall down, and as shown in FIG. It is housed in an orderly manner on the bottom portion 62a of the face plate. The left end (FIG. 5) of each sheet comes into contact with the back surface portion 62c by the flipping action to the left by the leaf spring 71 and the inclination of the bottom surface portion 62a, and the edges are aligned by the back surface portion 62c.

In the above embodiments, the printer used for the requirement printing of forms has been described as an example, but the paper collecting device of the present invention is not limited to the printer. .. When a large number of sheets are stored neatly in general office machines other than printing devices by changing the inclination angle of the sheet tilt guide 67, the strength of the leaf spring 71, etc. according to the sheet size, waist strength, etc. Can be used effectively.

[0055]

According to the present invention, by using the proper sheet storage stacker, the defective sheet storage stacker, and the gate for selecting them, it is possible to automatically sort and collect the defective sheets mixed in the proper sheets. It eliminates the need for an operator required for sorting and extracting defective paper, greatly improving work efficiency and reliability, and reducing personnel.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a plan view showing an outline of a printing apparatus provided with a paper collecting apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing an example of a stacker common to the proper paper storage and the defective paper storage in the same paper collection device.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same stacker.

FIG. 4 is a front view of the same stacker.

FIG. 5 is a side view of the same stacker.

[Explanation of symbols]

 P Paper 22, 23, 25, 31, 34 Paper transport line 37 Proper paper collection line 37a Defective paper collection line 38, 38a Gate 39 Proper paper storage stacker 39a Defective paper storage stacker

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sheet collecting device provided at the end of a sheet conveying line for conveying sheets one by one, and a sheet judged to be proper in the sheet conveying line is collected through an appropriate sheet collecting line. A proper paper storage stacker, a defective paper storage stacker that collects sheets of paper determined to be improper on the paper transport line via a defective paper collection line, and a proper paper collection line that is operated according to the determination on the paper transport line. A sheet collecting apparatus comprising: a gate for selectively selecting a defective sheet collecting line.