JPH0431155B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Technical Field of the Invention] The present invention relates to a form feeding device suitable for, for example, an optical character reading device.

[Technical Background of the Invention] Conventionally, devices having a mechanism for conveying forms, such as optical character reading devices, have been controlled to convey forms at a preset constant speed regardless of the state of the forms. in many cases.

For example, an optical character reading device includes a feed roller or other means for taking out forms one by one from a supply section called a hopper in which a plurality of forms are piled up, and an optical reading section for reading the forms taken out by this taking out means. A conveyance means such as a conveyance roller that conveys the form so as to pass through the form, and a discharge means such as a discharge roller that discharges the conveyed form to a storage section called a stacker are provided.
The conveying means and the ejecting means are driven to displace the form at a preset constant speed or constant acceleration.

[Problems in the Background Art] However, the conventional form feeding device as described above may cause feeding errors when the fed form is thin, the paper quality is poor, or the paper quality is not uniform. However, there was a problem that stable conveyance could not be performed.

Furthermore, even if the paper quality of the transported form is constant,
Its handling condition, i.e. "wrinkles" and "moistness"
If the degree of transport is different, there is a problem that stable conveyance cannot be performed.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention was made to solve the problems of the conventional form feeding device as described above, such as the fact that the form being conveyed is thin, the paper quality is poor, and the physical properties of the form. The object of the present invention is to provide a form feeding device that can always carry out stable conveyance without causing conveyance errors even when the sheets are not aligned.

[Summary of the Invention] A form feeding device of the present invention includes: a take-out means for taking out a plurality of forms one by one from a supply section in which a plurality of forms are stacked; a first driving means for driving the take-out means; a first detection means that outputs a first signal indicative of a retrieval error caused by the retrieval means; a transport means for transporting the form taken out by the retrieval means; and a second detection means for driving the transport means.
a second detection means for outputting a second signal indicating a conveyance error when the conveyance means causes a conveyance error; and a discharge means for discharging the conveyed form into a predetermined storage section; a third driving means for driving the ejecting means; a third detecting means for outputting a third signal indicating an ejecting error when the ejecting means has caused an ejecting error; The first to third drives input the first to third signals, calculate the frequency of occurrence of each error, and adjust the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form in the portion where errors frequently occur based on the frequency of occurrence. It is characterized by comprising a control means for controlling the means.

In the present invention, when a form sending error occurs,
This is based on the fact that feeding errors are less likely to occur if the feed speed or feed acceleration of that part is reduced.

[Embodiments of the Invention] Hereinafter, details of embodiments of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of essential parts of an embodiment of the present invention.

The apparatus of this embodiment includes a feed roller 3 that continuously takes out forms 2 one by one from a hopper 1 on which a plurality of forms have been deposited, a feed roller drive unit 4 that drives this feed roller 3, and An error detection section 5 that outputs a signal indicating an error, such as a double feed or skew error, and a conveyance roller that conveys the taken out form 2 so that it passes through a reading section 6 that optically reads it. 7, a conveyance roller driving section 8 that drives the conveyance roller 7, and an error detection section 9 that outputs a signal indicating when the conveyance roller 7 causes a conveyance error of the form 2, that is, a jam or a blockage. A discharge roller 11 that discharges the form 2 that caused an error during reading to the reject stacker 10; a discharge roller 13 that discharges the form 2 that has been successfully read to the accept stacker 12;
A discharge roller driving section 14 that drives these discharge rollers 11 and 13, and an error detection section 15 that outputs a signal indicating when the discharge roller 11 causes a document discharge error, that is, a selection mistake, etc.
and an error detection unit 16 that outputs a signal indicating this when the discharge roller 13 causes a discharge error.
It is composed of.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of the control system of the apparatus shown in FIG.

In the device of this embodiment, the above-mentioned error detection section 5,
Signals outputted from 9, 15, and 16 are input to a control unit 17 such as a microcomputer, and this control unit 17 controls the feed roller drive unit 4, the conveyance roller drive unit 8, and the discharge roller drive unit 14 to prevent errors. Adjust the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form 2 in the portion where the occurrence occurs frequently.

The operation of the apparatus of this embodiment will be explained below.

First, the form 2 on which the characters to be read are written is deposited on the hopper 1, and when the device is turned on, the control section 17 controls the feed roller drive section 4,
The feed roller 3, the conveyance roller 7, and the discharge rollers 11 and 13 are started at a predetermined rotational speed and rotational acceleration by controlling the conveyance roller drive section 8 and the discharge roller drive section 14.

As a result, the forms 2 are taken out one by one from the hopper 1 and conveyed to the reading section 6.

At this time, the feed roller 3 feeds the form 2 two at a time.
If a sheet is taken out or a blockage occurs, the error detection section 5 outputs a signal indicating this to the control section 17. Based on this signal, the control unit 17 counts the frequency of occurrence each time an ejection error occurs. When the frequency of occurrence reaches a predetermined value, the feed roller drive section 4 is controlled to reduce the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form 2 by the feed roller 3.

On the other hand, the control unit 17 controls the conveyance roller drive unit 8 so that the taken out form 2 passes through the reading unit 6, but if the conveyance roller 7 jams the form 2 or causes a large skew or jam, etc. The error detection unit 9 outputs a signal indicating this to the control unit 17. Then, based on this signal, the control unit 17 counts the frequency of occurrence each time a conveyance error occurs. And when the frequency of occurrence reaches a predetermined value,
The conveyance roller drive unit 8 is configured to reduce the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form 2 by the conveyance roller 7.
control.

Further, the control unit 17 controls the drive unit 14 to rotate the discharge rollers 11 and 13 in order to discharge the read form 2 to the reject stacker 10 or the accept stacker 12. When the form 2 is clogged, jammed, or a selection error occurs, the detection unit 15 or 1
6 outputs a signal indicating this to the control section 17. Based on this signal, the control unit 17 counts the frequency of occurrence of an ejection error every time it occurs. When the occurrence frequency reaches a predetermined value, the discharge roller 1
1 or 13 to reduce the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form 2.
Control 4.

Note that when the control unit 16 detects that the frequency of occurrence of errors in a certain part of the form 2 has been lowered by reducing the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of that part, the control unit 16 changes the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form 2 in that part. The drive unit of that portion is controlled so as to restore the initial value, that is, to increase the displacement speed or displacement acceleration.

However, in the device of this embodiment, each driving means is controlled according to the frequency of occurrence of errors in the take-out stage, conveyance stage, or discharge stage of the form 2, and the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form 2 is adjusted. Errors occur less frequently.

Note that the error detection section 5 in the device of this embodiment,
9, 15, and 16 can be constructed extremely easily using, for example, optical sensors made of light emitting diodes and phototransistors.

Furthermore, in this embodiment, the case where the present invention is applied to the conveyance mechanism of an optical character reading device has been explained.
The present invention is not limited to this, but can be widely applied to other devices having a mechanism for conveying forms, such as printing devices.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, the form feeding device of the present invention has the following effects:
By adjusting the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form where errors occur frequently, the frequency of errors will be significantly reduced, and the form will become thinner.
Even when the paper quality is poor or the physical properties of the form are not consistent, stable conveyance can always be performed.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing the configuration of essential parts of an apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the apparatus according to the embodiment. 1... hopper, 2... ledger, 3... feed roller,
4...Feed roller drive section, 5, 9, 15, 16
...Error detection section, 6.Reading section, 7.Transport roller,
8... Conveyance roller drive unit, 10... Reject stacker, 11, 13... Discharge roller, 12... Accept stacker, 14... Discharge roller drive unit.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A take-out means for taking out a plurality of forms one by one from a supply section in which a plurality of forms are accumulated, a first driving means for driving the take-out means, and a first drive means for indicating when a take-out error occurs in the take-out means. a first detecting means that outputs a signal No. 1; a conveying means that conveys the form taken out by the taking out means; a second driving means that drives this conveying means; When this indicates the second
a second detection means for outputting a signal; and a discharge means for discharging the transported form into a predetermined storage section;
a third driving means for driving the ejection means; a third detection means for outputting a third signal indicating an ejection error when the ejection means has occurred; Said first to third
control to control the first to third drive means to adjust the displacement speed or displacement acceleration of the form in the portion where errors frequently occur based on the frequency of occurrence of each error by inputting the signal of 1. A form feeding device comprising: means.