JPS6248266B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Object of the Invention] (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an improvement in an automatic ticket gate device that automatically performs ticket checking operations at, for example, a station ticket gate.

(Prior Art) In recent years, automatic ticket gates have been introduced in earnest at railway stations, for example, in order to omit ticket gate operations. When a passer-by, such as a person getting on or off the train, inserts a paper ticket, such as a train ticket or commuter pass, on which predetermined data is recorded, a reader inside the device reads the data on the ticket paper. The read data is sent to a data processing device to determine whether the ticket is valid or not, and depending on the result of this determination, the gate is automatically opened and closed to guide or prevent passengers from passing through. be.

By the way, this automatic ticket gate handles two types of ticket papers of different sizes: commuter passes and train tickets, and the ticket paper slot is wide enough for commuter passes to be inserted only in the longitudinal direction. is configured to have. Therefore, the ticket may be inserted in any direction, which becomes an obstacle when processing according to the information recorded on the ticket.

Therefore, automatic ticket gates are equipped with a ticket sorting device for arranging the inserted tickets. FIGS. 1 and 2 show a conventional ticket sorting device. That is, in the figure, a is a conveyance path for conveying the ticket c input from the input slot b, and the alignment reference surface d and the first restriction surface e and the second restriction surface f opposite thereto, Width dimensions are becoming regulated. In addition, the conveyance path a is a main conveyance belt g stretched along the alignment reference plane d.
and the upper surface of the sub-transport belt h stretched along the first regulating surface e, and the main and sub-transport belts are located on the starting end side of the transport path a, that is, in the vicinity of the input port b. Retractable belts i... are provided opposite to the upper surfaces of g and h.

In addition, the end of the second regulating surface e and the second regulating surface f
A vertical roller j is provided between the tip and the tip of the second regulating surface f, and an oblique roller k is provided opposite the curved portion of the second regulating surface f. The diagonal roller k has a conveying speed component parallel to the conveying direction of the main conveying belt g and a conveying speed component in the direction toward the alignment reference plane d.

As shown in Fig. 1, when the ticket c is inserted obliquely to the transport direction (arrow A) (state A), the retraction belt i... and the main and sub-transport belts g, h
It is transported as it is by.

Then, the front end of the ticket c comes into contact with the vertical roller j and is pushed in the direction of arrow B, changing the ticket c from the state A to the state B. Furthermore, the ticket c is brought into the state shown in C by the diagonal roller k and the second regulating surface f, and is then regulated in the width direction by the alignment reference surface d and the second regulating surface f. It will travel on the conveyance path a.

(Problems to be solved by the invention) In this way, in the conventional device, first, the ticket c.
The direction of the ticket c is changed by causing the ticket c to collide with a vertical roller j, and then the stiffness of the ticket c is used to make it follow the second regulating surface f. Therefore, the following various problems have occurred.

(1) As the first step of arranging the ticket sheets c, the ticket sheets c are directly arranged.
collides with the vertical roller j, so the ticket c may become wrinkled near the vertical roller j, or the ticket c may become wrinkled near the vertical roller j.
The front end of the paper can easily bend and cause ticket jams.

(2) The second regulating surface f uses the stiffness of the ticket c to gradually change the direction of the ticket c, so it has a gentle curvature that does not cause ticket jams. Therefore, the conveyance path a becomes long.

(3) Although the diagonal roller k assists the action of the second regulating surface f, it is not very effective since it is in contact with the ticket c for a short time.

(4) The structure is more complex.

The present invention has been made based on the above-mentioned circumstances, and aims to provide a relatively simple and compact structure that allows ticket sheets of different sizes input from the same input slot to be aligned on a reference surface. The purpose of this invention is to provide an automatic ticket gate device that can reliably line up along the same line.

[Structure of the Invention] (Means for Solving the Problems) In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a paper ticket transport path installed in the main body of the device, and a ticket paper feeding path and a ticket input port. A conveyor belt installed between the two sides and forming a take-in conveyance path for conveying the ticket between the opposing surfaces, and a side of the ticket installed on one side of this conveyor belt and conveyed by the conveyor belt. It is equipped with an alignment reference surface for aligning the ends, and an alignment belt that is placed across a plurality of rollers on the opposite side of the alignment reference surface and presses the ticket paper against the alignment reference surface side to align the tickets. The apparatus is characterized in that at least one of the plurality of rollers around which the alignment belt is stretched is attached to an eccentric shaft so as to vibrate the alignment belt toward the alignment reference plane.

(Function) By eccentrically rotating at least one roller among the plurality of rollers that span the alignment belt and vibrating the leading edge of the alignment belt toward the alignment reference plane, the tickets are aligned. Align the paper without impacting it.

(Example) Examples of the present invention will be described above based on the drawings.

1 in Figure 3 is the main body of the automatic ticket gate,
At the top of one end of this device main body 1 is a ticket input slot 2.
A ticket return slot 3 is provided at the upper part of the opposite side. A ticket paper transport path 5 formed by a plurality of transport belts 4 is provided horizontally within the apparatus main body 1. A return path 6 for feeding the ticket to the return port 3 is connected to the rear end of the ticket transport path 5. Furthermore, various necessary devices such as a ticket information reading device 7 and a puncher 8 are installed in the middle of the ticket paper conveyance path 5, and read the information recorded on the ticket paper, and also perform processing based on this read information. It is designed to perform predetermined operations.

Further, between the paper ticket input port 2 and the paper ticket transport path 5, a paper ticket intake and transport path 9 is installed. This means that the two ends are connected to rollers 10, 11, 1, respectively.
A pair of conveyor belts 14 and 15 bound to 2 and 13
are rolled into contact with each other, and the rolled contact surfaces form a conveyance surface 16 that conveys the ticket while holding it there. As shown in FIG. 5, the conveyance surface 16 is installed so as to be gently inclined between the input port 2 and the ticket conveyance path 5.

Further, the conveyor belt 1 of the intake conveyance path 9
4 and 15 are inclined at an angle α which gradually approaches the side alignment reference plane 17 as they move forward, as shown in FIG. Thus, the ticket taken in from the input slot 2 is conveyed while being brought closer to the alignment reference surface 17 side. Note that the alignment reference plane 17 is formed by a guide plate 18.
Further, a regulating plate 19 is provided on the opposite side of the alignment reference surface 17 in the input slot 2, and is adapted to regulate the orientation of the tickets to be input. That is, the insertion slot 2 is formed with a width that allows the commuter pass 20 to be inserted only when it is held vertically.

Further, an alignment mechanism 21 is installed on the opposite side of the alignment reference surface 17 across the conveyor belts 14 and 15, and is configured to press the ticket being conveyed toward the alignment reference surface 17 side. . This alignment mechanism 21
As shown in FIG. 6, it is composed of an endless alignment belt 22. That is, the alignment belt 22 is connected to the roller 2 attached to the rotating plate 23.
4 and 25, and furthermore, the front roller 24 is arranged so as to face the front end portions of the transport belts 14 and 15, and the front roller 25 is arranged so as to face the central part of the transport belts 14 and 15. has been done. In other words, the alignment belt 22 is disposed opposite to the conveyance surface 16 of the take-in conveyance path 9 on the side. The rotating plate 23 is pivoted at its front end, and in this embodiment, its pivot point is aligned with the axis of the front roller 25. Therefore, the forward end of the rotating plate 23 can be rotated toward the alignment reference plane 17 side. Further, the rotary plate 23 is connected to the solenoid 27 via the arm 26.
As shown in FIG.
By rotating 3 in either the A direction or the B direction, the position of the alignment belt 22 can be selected between the solid line and the dotted line. That is, when transporting the commuter pass 20, the position is indicated by the dotted line, and when transporting the small ticket 28, the position is indicated by the solid line. Note that this switching operation is performed based on the determination result of the optical detector 29, which will be described later.

Further, the rotating shaft 28 of the front roller 25 is connected to a reversible motor 32 via a coupling ring 31.

As shown in FIG. 6, the alignment belt 22 is stretched around the intake rollers 24 and 25 at both ends thereof, but as shown in FIG. The alignment belt 22 may be placed over the belt.

Furthermore, the roller 24 at the most extreme end is attached to an eccentric shaft 24a as shown in FIG. is configured to vibrate toward the alignment reference surface 17 and strike the side edge of the ticket.

On the other hand, at the front end of the take-in conveyance path 9, as shown in FIG. 6, an optical detector 29 is installed to detect the size and posture of the ticket inserted from the input port 2. That is, as shown in FIG. 7, a plurality of detection units 39 are arranged, each consisting of a light-emitting element 37 and a light-receiving element 38 arranged above and below with the transport surface 1 in between. and the ticket 28 and their orientation.

Further, as described above, the upper and lower conveyor belts 14 and 15 that constitute the intake conveyance path 9 roll into contact with each other to form the conveyance surface 16. The rollers 10 and 11 are not opposed to each other, but are installed offset in the conveying direction so that the lower roller 10 is located in the front. Furthermore, the lower roller 10
The circumferential surface of the conveyor belt 14 is raised above the conveyance surface 16, and the circumferential surface of the conveyor belt 14 wound around the roller 10 is placed closer to the circumferential surface of the other conveyor belt 15. Therefore, at the input side end, the conveyor belt 14 rises and is inclined along the ticket input direction. Moreover, it is adapted to be in close contact with the other conveyor belt 15 so as to partially wrap around it. Therefore, the dimensional relationship of each part in this state will be specifically described based on FIG. 10. First, the upper roller 11
The radius of the conveyor belt 15 when it wraps around is a, and the radius of the conveyor belt 14 when it wraps around the lower roller 11 is a.
When the radius of is b and the distance between the two circumferential surfaces is c, the sum of these is calculated from the center of the upper roller 11 to the point parallel to the conveying direction of the conveying surface 16 and of the lower roller 10. The distance L is greater than the distance L taken from the center of the upper roller 11 to a straight line passing through the axis. In other words, there is a relationship L<a+b+c. Of course, in this case, c≧O, a>O, b>
It is O.

The input port 2 is provided with a shutter 40, as shown in FIG. 9, which can be opened and closed by being plunged into the input port 2 based on a command from a control section (not shown). It's becoming like that. This input port 2 is provided with a door 41 that can be opened and closed.

Next, the operation of the automatic ticket gate device of the above embodiment will be explained. When the automatic ticket gate is ready for use, the shutter 40 of the slot 2 is retracted, and the slot 2 can be opened by opening the door 41. Therefore, when a user inserts a large-sized commuter pass 20, the width of the insertion slot 2 is only the width of the narrower of the commuter pass 20, so it can only be inserted along the longitudinal direction as shown in FIG. It is. Therefore, the commuter pass 2 is inserted only along the longitudinal direction, and the optical detector 29 detects the commuter pass 2.
It is determined as 0. Then, the position of the alignment belt 22 of the alignment mechanism 21 is switched based on this discrimination signal. That is, by energizing the solenoid 27 and rotationally displacing the rotating plate 23 in the direction A as shown in FIG. As the commuter pass 20 is conveyed along the conveyor belts 14 and 15 of the ticket conveyance path 5, it approaches the alignment reference surface 17, and its long sides are pressed against the alignment reference surface 17. Then, it runs while slidingly contacting the alignment reference surface 17 and can be aligned.

At the same time, the other long side of the commuter pass 20 is pushed toward the alignment reference surface 17 by the alignment belt 22 of the alignment mechanism 21.

In this way, the conveyor belt 14 of the intake conveyance path 9,
Not only the alignment belt 15 but also the alignment belt 22 forcefully press the alignment reference surface 17 to ensure sufficient alignment. Furthermore, as explained in FIG. 8, since the front roller 24 is attached to the eccentric shaft 24a, the tip of the alignment belt 22, which is stretched around the roller 24, vibrates back and forth toward the alignment reference surface 17. Therefore, the alignment effect is enhanced by lightly tapping the side edges of the ticket.

In addition, the present invention improves the alignment of the conveyor belts 14, 15 by slightly widening the gap on the tip side of the conveyor belts 14, 15 forming the intake conveyance path 9, as shown in FIG. 12, and weakening the clamping force. Mechanism 2
To make the alignment action of 1 easier and smoother. Also,
In this case, as shown in FIG.
A roller 12 supporting the tip end of the rollers 4 and 15;
If at least one of the conveyor belts 13 is made eccentric, the distal ends of the conveyor belts 14 and 15 are vibrated, thereby weakening or increasing the clamping force to assist in the above-mentioned alignment action and to ensure conveyance force. You can do it like this.

On the other hand, when inserting a small-sized ticket 28, the insertion slot 2 is sized to match the commuter pass 20, so the posture of the ticket 28 is not determined.
It is made to be inserted in various postures. Then, the optical detector 29 determines that the ticket 28 has been inserted and its orientation. The alignment belt 22 normally rotates in the A direction, but the ticket 2
8 is lying on its side, the alignment belt 22 rotates in the direction A, folds down the ticket 28, and aligns the long side with the alignment reference surface 17. Then, the ticket 28 can be aligned along the alignment reference plane 17 by the same action as described above.

Furthermore, if the inserted ticket 28 is bent or deformed, the ticket will jam near the alignment belt 22, and after passing through the optical detector 29,
If the tickets 28 do not pass through an alignment section exit detection device (not shown) within a predetermined time, the running direction of the alignment belt 22 is reversed, and the jammed tickets 28 are aligned. Further, when the ticket 28 does not pass through the alignment section exit detection device within a specified time, the alignment belt 22 retreats from the take-in conveyance path 9, widens the take-in conveyance path 9, and discharges the ticket.

The commuter passes 20 and tickets 28 thus aligned on the take-in conveyance path 9 are sent to the ticket conveyance path 5, where the information reading device 7 reads the information on the tickets. It also operates various functions of the automatic ticket gate. Note that the ticket 28 is punched by the puncher 8 if necessary. In this way, the ticket passes through the ticket transport path 5 and is returned to the return slot 3 via the return path 6.

On the other hand, in the above embodiment, the front end portions of the conveyor belts 14 and 15 forming the ticket conveyance path 5 are in close contact with each other, and the front end portion of the lower conveyor belt extends toward the input port 2 side and is inclined. The ticket sheet is guided along the inclined surface and is drawn between the conveyor belts 14 and 15 which are in close contact with each other. In other words, it is capable of strongly biting the inserted ticket and reliably taking it in.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the present invention is configured such that at least one of the plurality of rollers around which the alignment belt is stretched is attached to an eccentric shaft, and the leading edge of the alignment belt is directed toward the alignment reference surface side. It vibrates and strikes the side edge of the ticket. Therefore, although the configuration is simple, the effect of aligning the ticket sheets can be greatly improved. Furthermore, it provides various excellent effects such as being able to smoothly transport and align the ticket without damaging or clogging the ticket.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the conventional device, Fig. 2 is a front view thereof, Fig. 3 is a plan view showing an embodiment of the present invention, Fig. 4 is a front view thereof, and Fig. 5 is the main part thereof. FIG. 6 is a plan view of the intake conveyance path section of the embodiment, FIG. 7 is a side view of the intake conveyance path section, and FIG. 8 is a diagram of the alignment mechanism section. 9 is a side view of the input port, FIG. 10 is an explanatory view of the conveyor belt roller portion, and FIGS. 11 to 13 are explanatory views showing other embodiments. 1...Device main body, 2...Input port, 3...Return port, 4...
Conveyance belt, 5...Ticket paper conveyance path, 7...Information reading device, 9...Take-in conveyance path, 10, 11, 12, 13
...Roller, 13a... Eccentric shaft, 14, 15... Conveyance belt, 16... Conveyance surface, 17... Alignment reference surface, 18...
Guide plate, 20... commuter pass, 21... alignment mechanism, 22
...Alignment belt, 24, 25...Roller, 24a...Eccentric shaft, 26...Arm, 28...Ticket, 29...Optical detector, 30...Rotating shaft, 33...Intermediate roller, 3
4... Laura.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A ticket conveyance path installed in the device main body, a conveyor belt installed between the ticket conveyance path and the ticket input port and forming a take-in conveyance path for conveying the ticket between opposing surfaces; Installed on one side of the conveyor belt,
An alignment reference surface that aligns the side edges of the tickets conveyed by the conveyor belt, and an alignment reference surface that is installed across a plurality of rollers on the opposite side to the alignment reference surface and that aligns the ticket sheets on the side of the alignment reference surface. and an alignment belt that aligns the alignment belt by pressing it against the alignment belt, and at least one of the plurality of rollers around which the alignment belt is stretched is attached to an eccentric shaft so as to vibrate the alignment belt toward the alignment reference plane. An automatic ticket gate device characterized by: