JPH0615377B2 - Sorting device - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention supplies a piece of tape between printed products, copies, etc. that are discharged and piled up from, for example, a printer, a copier, etc. Thus, the present invention relates to a sorting device for arbitrarily sorting the discharged sheets of the printed matter, the copied matter, and the like.

[Prior Art] FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing an example of a conventional sorting device.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 is a case that houses the mechanism of the sorting device. A roll 3 having a tape 2 wound in a tubular shape is rotatably provided inside the case 1 so that the tape 2 can be continuously supplied.

The tip of the tape 2 is guided in the horizontal direction via a rotatably provided tape guide 4 and is held between the pinch roller 5 and the capstan 6.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the pinch roller 5 has an outer peripheral surface protruding in a V shape, and the rotary shaft 5a can be finely moved upward. Further, a V-shaped groove 6a matching the approximate shape of the pinch roller 5 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the capstan 6, and the inner surface of the groove 6a contacts the outer peripheral surface of the pinch roller 5. Engaged. When the tape is mounted, the pinch roller 5 is lifted to release the engagement with the capstan 6, and the tip of the tape 2 is sandwiched between the pinch roller 5 and the capstan 6. Further, the capstan 6
Is driven by being connected to a motor, sandwiching the tape 2 between the pinch roller 5 and the V-shape, and transporting the tape 2 to the cutter 7.

The cutter 7 is composed of a fixed lower blade 7a and an upper blade 7b that is driven downward by a solenoid 8 to make the waisted tape 2 conveyed from the capstan 6 into a predetermined length. It is to cut.

Then, the tape piece 2a cut into a predetermined length is configured to drop to the outside of the device from the discharge port 1a provided in the front part of the case 1. Outside the apparatus, for example, a printing machine or the like continuously discharges and stacks discharged paper such as printed matter. Driving the capstan 6 and cutting the tape 2 by the cutter 7 is a discharging operation for printed matter and the like. Since the tape pieces 2a that have fallen are sandwiched between the ejected sheets of printed matter or the like that are piled up one after another, the ejected sheets are sorted into a predetermined number or a set number of copies. Will be done.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, according to the conventional sorting device, the tape piece 2a used for sorting the discharged sheets is obtained by cutting one tape 2 into a predetermined length. There is a problem that it is generally difficult to perform a work such as sorting the discharged paper divided into small units into a larger group because it is difficult to distinguish the tape pieces 2a from each other in appearance.

In addition, there is a problem that the tape piece 2a is apt to be caught by the discharge port 1a during the fall and is not accurately pinched between the discharged sheets.

[Object of the Invention] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and one of a plurality of tapes is selectively conveyed according to the type of sorting information, and the tape is inserted between the discharged sheets. Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a sorting device in which a plurality of types of sorting can be easily performed and a tape piece can always be accurately sandwiched between the discharged sheets.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the present invention is a sorting device for performing sorting by inserting a sorting tape between paper discharges, a plurality of tapes provided inside the device, and a plurality of tapes provided inside the device. A tape selection / conveyance means for selectively conveying one of the tapes according to the sorting information, and a tape ejected after the tape fed by the tape selection / hand feeding means is cut into a predetermined length by a cutter means. And a control means for controlling the tape tip conveying means, the cutter means, and the conveying means according to the sorting information, and the conveying means is located downstream of the cutter means. It is composed of a pair of upper and lower rollers installed in contact with each other and rotating in opposite directions. The lower roller has an outer diameter larger than that of the upper roller, and a part of the lower roller is provided in the case of the device. It is characterized in that protrudes outward of the apparatus from the mouth.

[Action]

The control means controls the tape selection / conveyance means according to the preset classification information type to select and convey one of the plurality of tapes, and the conveyed tape is cut to a predetermined length by the cutter means. Since the paper is cut into pieces and the tape is inserted between the discharged sheets by the conveying means to perform the sorting, for example, when the set and the number of copies are sorted, the discharge of the set and the number of copies are different. Even if a plurality of types of classification are performed, the classification can be easily distinguished.

Further, the tape is guided outward along a large-diameter outer circumference of the lower roller that constitutes the conveying means from the discharge port formed in the apparatus case, is dropped and inserted between the discharge sheets, and is caught in the discharge port. Absent.

[Example] An example of the present invention will be described below.

In the figure, 10 is a case that houses the configuration of this apparatus. Inside the case 10, rolls a and b of two kinds of tapes A and B having different colors are rotatably provided, and both tapes A and B are respectively tape guides 11 and 1.
After 2, it is continuously supplied to the left. Further, sensors 13 and 14 for detecting the disappearance of the tapes A and B are provided between the tape guides 11 and 12 and the rolls a and b, respectively, and are connected to the control means described later. There is.

A tape switching mechanism 17 is provided on the left side of the tape guides 11 and 12. The tape switching mechanism 17 includes a pair of upper and lower capstans 15, 16 and a capstan 15,
16 and a switching plate 19 provided between them. The outer surface of the capstan is a plane shape, and both capstans 15 and 16 are provided with a predetermined interval between the outer surfaces with their axes of rotation being parallel to each other. Also,
A belt T is attached to each of the rotating shafts so that the capstans 15 and 16 rotate in opposite directions by a driving force of a motor M described later. The switching plate 19 provided between the capstans 15 and 16 has one end pivotally supported by the swing shaft 18 and the other end having a flat outer peripheral surface, which is a pinch roller 20. Is rotatably attached. Further, solenoids SA and SB connected to the control means are provided at both upper and lower positions of the switching plate 19, respectively. The solenoids SA and SB are respectively connected to the switching plate 19, and are configured so that the switching plate 19 can be swung up and down in response to a signal from the control means. And
Tapes A and B guided from the tape guides 11 and 12
Is the pinch roller 20 of the switching plate 19 and the capstan 1
5 or the capstan 16 selectively holds the paper according to the sorting information described later and conveys the paper to the left.

Next, a cutter 21 is provided on the left side of the tape switching mechanism 17 (frontward in the feeding direction of the tapes A and B). The cutter 21 is composed of a fixed lower blade 21a and an upper blade 21b that is vertically moved by a cutter solenoid SC, and the cutter solenoid SC is connected to a control means.

Next, on the left side of the cutter 21 (frontward in the feeding direction of the tapes A and B), a V-shaped capstan 22 as a driving roller is provided.
And a V-shaped pinch roller 23 as a pressure roller. The outer peripheral surface of the V-shaped pinch roller 23 is formed in a convex shape having a substantially V-shaped cross section. The V-shaped pinch roller 2 is formed on the outer peripheral surface of the V-shaped capstan 22.
A V-shaped groove 22a conforming to the shape of the outer peripheral surface of No. 3 is formed, and the outer peripheral portion of the V-shaped pinch roller 23 is engaged with and in contact with the groove 22a. A part of the V-type capstan 22 is exposed to the outside from the discharge port 10a formed on the front surface of the case 10 so that the tape piece cut by the cutter 21 does not come into contact with the case 10 when dropped. Further, the V-shaped capstan 22 is interlocked with the capstan 16 by a common belt 24 and a motor M which is driven and controlled by the control means.
The tapes A and B that have been conveyed are transferred to the V-shaped pinch roller 2
It is sandwiched between 3 and the V-shaped waist, and the cutter 2
The tape piece after being cut by 1 is carried out to the outside of the apparatus while being attached.

Next, on the front surface of the case 10, the tape changeover switch 25
Is provided. If the amount of use of one tape increases depending on the operating status of the device, tape A in the device,
Although only one of B will disappear soon, in order to avoid this, the tape that is always the sending side is connected to the control means so that either side of tape A or tape B can be switched with one touch. It has been done.

Next, although not shown, this apparatus is provided with a control means for arbitrarily setting the operation timing and realizing an appropriate tape piece ejection operation. The main part of the control means can be constituted by, for example, a microcomputer, and as shown in FIG. 5, a numeric keypad for inputting classification information to be set, a start switch of this device, a tape changeover switch 25 and a sensor. An input device group 26 such as 13, 14 is connected to a CPU 28 via an input / output circuit 27. The CPU 28 is connected to a memory 29 including a RAM and a ROM, and compares the sorting information input by the ten-key pad and set in the RAM with the number of discharged sheets according to a program stored in the ROM in advance, and the input / output circuit 27. It is configured to output a control signal for driving and controlling the controlled object 30 such as the solenoids SA, SB, the cutter solenoid SC, and the motor M connected via the.

Next, the operation of the configuration described above will be described.

First, the rolls a and b of the tape A and the tape B are mounted at predetermined positions, and the tips of the tapes A and B are passed between the capstans 15 and 16 and the pinch roller 20, respectively.
At this time, the switching plate 19 is in the horizontal state, and the pinch roller 2
Since 0 is set to the neutral position (the position shown in FIG. 1), there is no need for the troublesome tape setting work, which is accompanied by the operation of releasing the pinch roller as described in [Prior Art].

Next, the start switch is closed, the tape changeover switch 25 is set to the tape A side, and the numeric keypad is operated to divide the information into small groups for dividing into arbitrary groups and groups of arbitrary groups. Enter classification information such as large classification information. For example, 20 sheets of discharged paper printed and discharged from a printing machine or the like installed outside the apparatus are set as one set, and a tape piece of tape A is sent out for each set to be supplied onto the discharged sheet.
Can be subdivided. Furthermore, for example,
If the first 3 sets are the 1st set and the next 6 sets are the 2nd set, etc., if the tape pieces of tape B are sent out and supplied on the paper discharge after being roughly divided into each set, two types of different colors can be obtained. With the tapes A and B, it is possible to set the discharge to be divided into an arbitrary number of sets (small section) and an arbitrary number of sets (large section).

When the apparatus is started, the driving force of the motor M causes the capstans 15 and 16 of the tape switching mechanism 17, the V-type capstan 22 and the V-type pinch roller 23 to start rotating in association with each other.

The control means, according to the preset classification information,
The control signal is output at the same timing as the paper discharge operation of the paper discharge outside the apparatus. As shown in the operation timing charts of FIGS. 2 and 6 (a), the solenoid SA which has received the signal causes the switching plate 19 to swing upward, so that the tape A
Is pressed between the capstan 15 and the pinch roller 20. The tape A is conveyed to the left for a predetermined time t ₁ by the rotational force of the capstan 15, and the tip of the tape A passes between the upper blade 21b and the lower blade 21a of the cutter 21 to form a V-shaped cap. The contact portion between the stun 22 and the V-shaped pinch roller 23 is reached. Then, the tape A is drawn into the V-shaped capstan 22 that is interlocked with the motor M that is constantly rotating, and is sandwiched between the groove 22a of the V-shaped capstan 22 and the outer peripheral portion of the V-shaped pinch roller 23, It is V-shaped and is transported to the left.

As shown in FIGS. 3 and 6 (a), when the V-shaped capstan 22 and the V-shaped pinch roller 23 have set the tape A on the waist and fed for a predetermined time t ₂ , a signal from the control means is received. The cutter solenoid SC is actuated to cut the tape A into tape pieces A1 having a predetermined length. At this time,
Since the cut portion of the tape A has not yet been stiffened and remains in the shape of a thin tape, the cutter stroke of the cutter 21 can be short, and therefore the cutter solenoid SC does not need much power.

Then, as shown in FIG. 4, the cut tape piece A1
Is continuously conveyed to the left, and the rear half of the tape piece A1 which is not yet stiffened is also sandwiched between the V-shaped pinch roller 23 and the V-shaped capstan 22 and formed into a V-shape. Then, the tape piece A1 drops from the discharge port 10a of the case 10 to the outside of the apparatus and is sandwiched between the discharged paper sheets, and the tape piece A1 is discharged every predetermined number of sheets (for example, 20 sheets in the above example). Divide into groups. By the way, since the vicinity of the cut portion of the tape piece A1 is stiffened after the cutting by the cutter 21, the stiffening of the entire tape piece A1 is performed uniformly and surely, and there is a problem in the falling state outside the device. It never happens. In addition, the V-type capstan 22
Is slightly exposed to the outside from the discharge port 10a, so that when the tape piece A1 is discharged, the tape piece A1 is discharged from the discharge port 10a.
It is not caught on the edge of a. Furthermore, canta 21
Is provided on the rear side of the V-type capstan 22 and the like and cannot be touched by a straight line from the discharge port 10a, which is safe in operation.

Next, when the number of sets of discharged sheets subdivided by the tape piece A1 of the tape A reaches a predetermined number of sets, the tape piece B1 of the tape B showing the large division for each set is ejected. It

That is, the control means outputs a control signal in accordance with preset classification information, operates the solenoid SB, and swings / sets the switching plate 19 downward. Fig. 6 (b)
As shown in the operation timing chart of
It is sandwiched between the capstan 16 and the pinch roller 20 and conveyed leftward for a predetermined time t ₁ . Continuing, tape B is V
V by the type capstan 22 and V type pinch roller 23
It is conveyed to the left for a predetermined time t ₃ while being bent into a letter shape. Then, the cutter solenoid SC receiving the signal from the control means actuates the cutter 21 and cuts the tape B into a tape piece B1 having a predetermined length.

The tape piece B1 is further conveyed while the latter half portion which has not yet been stiffened is stiffened, and drops onto the discharged paper outside the apparatus.

In the feeding operation of the tape B, the set time t ₃ between the end of the feeding operation by the capstan 16 and the pinch roller 20 and the cutting operation by the cutter 21 is smaller than the set time t ₂ in the case of the tape A. It's been taken for a long time. Therefore, since the tape piece B1 of the tape B is longer than the tape piece A1 of the tape A, together with the effect due to the difference in color, each discharge group (small section) or each section (large section)
The division of becomes clear.

Next, when the discharge sorting operation as described above is continued, the tape A, which is used as a small section and which is always on the feeding side, has a larger usage amount, and therefore the tape A is lost first.

Therefore, in order to equalize the usage amounts of the tape A and the tape B, the tape changeover switch 25 is switched to the B side in order to use the tape B which has been used for the large division until now for the small division. On the contrary, the tape B is always fed out for the small section. Therefore, both tapes A and B can be used evenly by appropriately operating the tape changeover switch 25.

When the tapes A and B are used up during use, as shown in the operation timing chart of FIG.
The signal values output by the sensors 13 and 14 are inverted and input to the control means. Then, the control means controls the motor M and the solenoids SA and S for a preset time t _4.
By driving B, the trailing ends of the tapes A and B are discharged to the outside of the apparatus and the apparatus is stopped. By connecting a printing machine or the like outside the apparatus to the apparatus and stopping the operation by the signals of the sensors 13 and 14, the operation of the printing machine can be stopped when the tapes A and B are finished. Therefore, it is very convenient in sorting the discharged sheets as compared with the conventional sorting device without a sensor.

If a new tape is attached, the output signals of the sensors 13 and 14 are reversed again, and the device can be operated.
The operation can be restarted by operating the start switch.

In the embodiment described above, two types of tapes of different colors were used and the apparatus was set so that the cut lengths of the tape pieces were different.

However, the two tapes may have the same color, and in that case, the work of dividing into a plurality of layers can be performed by appropriately changing the length of the tape piece.

Furthermore, by equipping three or more tapes and providing a tape switching mechanism that is substantially the same as the tape switching mechanism described in the embodiment, one of a plurality of tapes can be selectively conveyed, cut, and attached to the tape to be ejected. It is also possible to adopt a configuration in which paper sorting work is performed.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the sorting information of the present invention, the sorting device of the present invention selectively transports one of the plurality of tapes by the tape selecting and transporting means, and the cutter means cuts the tape into pieces. It is configured such that it is cut and then conveyed by the conveying means during the paper discharge.
Therefore, according to the present invention, an arbitrary one can be selected from a plurality of types of tapes and cut, and the tape pieces can be sent out onto the paper discharge, so that complicated sorting work can be easily performed. effective.

Further, according to the sorting apparatus of the present invention, the conveying means for reversing the tape piece between the discharged sheets is constituted by a pair of upper and lower rollers which are arranged on the downstream side of the cutter means and rotate in contact with each other in opposite directions. Has a larger outer diameter than that of the upper roller, and a part of the upper roller is projected to the outside of the device from the discharge port provided in the case of the device. Therefore, the tape piece cut by the cutter means forms the conveying means. The tape is delivered to the outside of the device around the large diameter outer circumference of the lower roller at a predetermined timing, and is not caught by the edge of the discharge port and the delivery position or timing between the discharge sheets is not shifted. There is an effect that it can always be pinched between the discharged sheets accurately.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 2 to 4 are operation explanatory views of the embodiment, and FIG. 5 is an outline of a main part of a control means in the embodiment. Block diagram showing No. 6
FIGS. 7A and 7B are timing charts showing the tape feeding operation in one embodiment, FIG. 7 is an operation timing chart when the tape is used up in one embodiment, and FIG. FIG. 9 is a sectional view showing an example of the sorting device, FIG. 9 is a view taken along the line AA in FIG. 8, and FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a tape piece supplied by the conventional sorting device. A, B ... tape, A1, B1 ... tape piece, 17 ...
Tape switching mechanism, 21 ... a cutter as a cutter means,
22 ... V-type capstan as a driving roller, 23 ...
... V-shaped pinch roller as a pressure roller.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A sorting device for performing sorting by inserting a sorting tape between paper discharges, and a plurality of tapes provided inside the device and the tapes provided inside the device according to sorting information. A tape selecting / conveying means for selectively conveying one of the tapes, and a conveying means for conveying the tape fed by the tape selecting / conveying means to a predetermined length by a cutter means and then conveying the tape between the ejected sheets. The tape selection / conveyance means, the cutter means, and a control means for controlling the conveyance means are provided according to the sorting information, and the conveyance means are arranged in contact with each other in directions opposite to each other, which are installed on the downstream side of the cutter means. The lower roller has an outer diameter larger than that of the upper roller, and a part of the lower roller is projected to the outside of the device from an outlet provided in the case of the device. Sorting apparatus characterized by there.