JPS5813453B2 - Yubinbutsukiyoukiyuusouchi - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention generally relates to a mail supply device, and more particularly to a mail supply device that supplies mail collected in a coding desk of a code printing type mail sorting system one by one to a presentation unit in a predetermined posture. This invention relates to mail supply devices and other mail supply devices for similar uses.

This type of device includes those that use a suction belt, friction belts, and suction cups to take out and feed mail items, but these devices handle items that are somewhat damaged, such as mail items. In this case, the suction cup method is superior in that when the objects to be fed are taken out one by one, the frictional force is less likely to affect the next object to be fed, disrupting its arrangement or increasing pain.

As shown in FIG. 1, this type of mail supply device has a suction cup 2 that moves a fixed trajectory as indicated by a chain double-dashed line A with an arrow to the mail 1 which is stacked with its longitudinal direction horizontally. move,
A known configuration is known in which the postal items 1a brought successively to a certain leading position are sucked and retreated into the chute plate 3, so that the adsorbed mail items are peeled off on the plate surface of the chute plate 3 and fall downward. There is.

A pipe arm 4 carries a suction cup 2 at its tip and has its other end 5 connected to an intake pump via a flexible hose (not shown).
The suction cup 2 is caused to draw a trajectory A under the control of a link mechanism T driven by the rotation of the motor shaft 6 in the direction of arrow B.

Nodes 8 and 9 of the link mechanism 7 are pivotally supported by a frame 10, and nodes 11 and 12 reciprocate in the directions of arrows C and D, respectively.

Generally, when a suction cup sucks a piece of mail and then retreats at a right angle, a negative pressure is generated between the suctioned mail and the next piece of mail depending on its speed, which may disturb the arrangement of the next piece of mail or cause two pieces to be sent. There is a risk that this may occur.

In the device shown in FIG. 1, since the suction cup 2 draws a trajectory A as shown in the figure, there is little concern about this, but the link mechanism for making the suction cup 2 draw a trajectory A is complicated.

With this clever device, the mail is initially placed horizontally with its longitudinal direction horizontal, so its stability is not bad. If you try to feed the mail in a vertically oriented state, the mail will be placed vertically and good stability will not be obtained.

The present invention aims to solve these conventional problems.The present invention has a part of the hopper tilted so that the stacked mail can be stably supported even in a vertically long state, and a suction cup is used to move the leading mail to the following mail. To provide a mail supply device of a new configuration which takes out mail items without disturbing them and releases them onto a chute board with their longitudinal direction facing up or down.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be explained in detail with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3 showing one embodiment thereof.

In FIG. 2, reference numeral 20 indicates a part of the inclined hog that supports the accumulated mail 1 of this feeding device, and its bottom plate 21 is moderately inclined downward toward the rear, that is, toward the front, and on one side (as shown in the figure). The left side) also slopes moderately downward, and cooperates with the side plate 22 that intersects at right angles on the left side edge and the push plate 23 located at right angles to both plates 21 and 22 to move the accumulated mail 1. Support stably.

The push plate 23 supports a part of the weight of the accumulated mail 1, and is intermittently driven by a drive system (not shown) to sequentially propel the accumulated mail 1 forward as shown by arrow E, always keeping the weight of the first mail 1a constant. take the position.

The hopper part 20 is equipped with an appropriate detector (not shown) such as a pressure-sensitive switch to control the drive system of the push plate 23 so that the leading surface of the accumulated mail is always at a constant position. do.

Reference numeral 24 is a chute plate 25 that sucks the first mail item 1a.
Showing the suction cup moved up to.

The suction cup 24 is attached to the tip of a suction pipe 27 which is connected to an intake pump (not shown) via a flexible hose 26.

A swinging arm 28 carrying a suction pipe 27 is pivotally attached 31 to the tip of a drive shaft 30 that is supported by a shaft support 29 and rotates reciprocatingly at a constant angle, and is always biased in the direction of arrow F by a tension coil spring 32. ing.

Reference numeral 33 denotes a rotating roller supported by the intermediate portion of the arm 28, and is constantly pressed against the guide plate 34 by the tension of the spring 32.

The guide plate 34 is curved in a specific shape as shown in the figure, and the arm 28, which swings in the direction of arrow G due to the reciprocating rotation of the drive shaft 30, is pivoted in the front-rear direction relative to the drive shaft 30 via the roller 33. A cam function is performed to cause the suction cup 24 at the tip of the suction pipe 27 to perform a required controlled movement.

That is, the guide plate 34 is curved convexly toward the front in FIG. It has a plate width sufficient to always stably support the reciprocating rotating roller 33.

Therefore, the arm 2 swings with the reciprocating rotation of the drive shaft 30.
8 pivots back and forth at the same time, and as the drive shaft 30 rotates counterclockwise, the suction cup 24 gradually advances to the left and approaches the hopper 20, sucking up the leading mail piece 1a. Reach the position you want.

Conversely, when the drive shaft 30 rotates clockwise, the suction cup 24
moves to the rear right side along with the adsorbed mail and reaches the chute plate 25.
retreat to the back of

As will be described later, the suction cup 24 moves back and forth and reciprocates around the central axis in response to the rotation of the drive shaft.

The two-dot chain line H in FIG. 3 indicates the trajectory of the suction cup movement controlled in this manner, and the reference numeral 35 in FIGS. 2 and 3 indicates an opening through which the suction cup 24 provided on the chute plate 25 passes.

Next, the mail feeding operation by the suction cup of this apparatus will be explained with reference to FIGS. 3A, 3B, and 3C, which show the movement of the suction cup as viewed from above, from the front, and from the side, respectively.

First, as can be seen from FIG. 3A, the suction cup 24 following the trajectory H obliquely approaches and retreats from the leading surface of the accumulated mail 1 in the hopper part 20, that is, the mail 1a.

At the time of approach, the suction cup 24 first sucks one side of the first mail item 1a with a weak suction force to slightly separate it from the next mail item, and then moves to the left until the distance between it and the first mail item 1a is increased. As it shrinks, the suction force becomes stronger and the mail 1a is attracted at a certain position.

This position is related to the weight of the mail item 1a, and the lighter the mail item, the faster it will be suctioned. However, when the suction cup 24 moves further toward the left end position, the suction mail item 1a will be attached to the side plate 22 and the bottom plate due to its inherent rigidity. 21 and the suction cup 24, the mail only slips between it and the suction cup 24, and the mail is always eventually attracted to the suction cup 24 at a fixed distance from the side plate 22 and the bottom plate 21, respectively. .

Such regulation of the suction position can be made more reliable by giving the suction cup a movement so as to slightly approach the plane of the bottom plate 21 at the final stage of the approach movement.

As the suction cup 24 retreats, the suctioned mail moves away from the next mail, but at first it moves not at right angles to the leading surface of the accumulated mail, but in an oblique direction, and the distance between it and the next mail is gradually widened. Since there is no sudden change in atmospheric pressure, the arrangement of the next mail item will not be affected in the slightest.

The retreating suction cup 24 eventually retreats backward through the opening 35 of the chute plate 25, but the mail pieces attracted to the suction cup 24 are blocked by the chute plate surface around the uniquely rigid opening 35 and are released from the suction cup 24. , it stays on the chute plate 25 and falls due to gravity.

As described above, this approach and retreat movement of the suction cup 24 is performed by the reciprocating rotation of the arm 28 shown by the arrow G in FIG. 2, and the trajectory H of the suction cup 24 is as shown in FIG. As shown in the figure, the suction cup 24 has an arc shape, and the suction cup 24 itself reciprocates at a constant angle corresponding to the arc angle.

Therefore, it is necessary to make sure that the suction cup 24 passes through the opening 35 of the chute plate in a state in which the mail, which has been sucked in a tilted state at a part of the hopper, rotates with the retreating suction cup so that the direction of its longitudinal force is in the vertical direction. For example, the mail is released onto the chute plate 25 in a vertically elongated state, that is, in an upright position with the direction of longitudinal force facing up and down, and falls in that position.

Looking at the movement of the mail from the side, as shown in Figure 3C, the mail that was tilted to the left at the hopper part 20 is marked 1.
As shown in b, the chute board 2 is tilted to the right.
5 and can be released and fall in a stable state.

As is clear from the above explanation, according to the present invention, the mail pieces stably accumulated in a part of the hopper are transferred one by one onto the chute plate in an upright position by the suction cup, so that they stay on the chute plate and fall. By simply devising ways to prevent the mail from falling over, mail can be fed one by one in an extremely stable and reliable manner, and the device has a simple structure. Suitable for supplying mail such as at a coding desk where an operator reads and types the address when processing the mail with a code printing type sorting system in the area where the mail is to be written.

The specific structure of the present invention is not limited to the above-mentioned embodiments, and various changes can be made as necessary, and the patent rights of the present invention, including those modifications, are defined in the above-mentioned claims. Covers all mail feeding equipment.

In addition, in the forefilling example, the mail is stacked vertically in a part of the hopper, but with the device of the present invention, even if the mail is stacked horizontally in a part of the hopper, the retracting suction cup does not have the required angular amount. By applying rotation, the suctioned mail can be released onto the chute plate in an upright position.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a side view of the main parts of a conventional suction cup type mail feeding device, Figure 2
The figure is a perspective view showing the main structure of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 3A
,B,C are plan views showing the movement of the suction cup and the mail,
They are a front view and a side view. 1: Accumulated mail, 1a: First mail, 1b: Mail transferred onto chute board, 2: Suction cup, 3: Chute board, 4:
Pipe arm, 6: Motor shaft, 7: Link mechanism, 20
: Part of hopper, 21: Bottom plate, 22: Side plate, 23: Push plate,
24: Suction cup, 25: Chute plate, 26: Town flexible hose,
21: Suction pipe, 28: Swing arm, 30: Drive shaft, 31: Pivot part, 32: Tension coil spring, 331 Rotating roller, 34: Guide plate, 35: Suction cup passage opening.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A bottom plate tilting to one side, a side plate perpendicular to the bottom plate on the one side, and a side plate located perpendicular to the bottom plate and the side plate to support part of the weight of the accumulated mail. The hopper has a part consisting of a push plate that is successively propelled forward while moving forward, a suction cup that approaches the front piled mail from the front, suctions the first mail, and retreats, and an opening through which the suction cup passes. A chute plate that separates the suctioned mail from the suction cup and drops it; and a chute plate that approaches and retreats the suction cup diagonally from the top of the accumulated mail and rotates the suction cup while it is retreating to move the suctioned mail in the longitudinal direction in the vertical direction. a suction cup drive control mechanism for retracting the suction cup into the opening of the chute plate in a state where the suction cup is