Sheet feeding or delivering – Feeding – Separator and conveyor
Reexamination Certificate
2001-04-17
2003-10-28
Valenza, Joseph E. (Department: 3651)
Sheet feeding or delivering
Feeding
Separator and conveyor
C271S121000, C271S104000, C271S097000
Reexamination Certificate
active
06637741
ABSTRACT:
FIELD OF THE INVENTION
This invention relates to a sheet processing unit, in particular, to a sheet processing unit that can take out sheets one by one from piled sheets, convey the taken sheets, carry out a predetermined process to the conveyed sheets, classify the processed sheets and collect the classified sheets respectively.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
A conventional sheet processing unit can take out sheets from piled sheets one by one and convey the taken sheets one by one. The taken sheets can be processed (tested) and classified into the sheets for recycling or the sheets for discharging.
The conventional sheet processing unit comprises: a taking part for taking the sheets, a conveying part for conveying the taken sheets, a testing part for testing the conveyed sheets, a classifying part for classifying the sheets on the basis of the result of the testing, and a collecting part for collecting the classified sheets respectively.
The conventional sheet processing unit operates as follows. Collected sheets are conveyed into the unit as piled sheets. The piled sheets consist of n (desired number) sheets. The taking part takes out the sheets one by one from the piled sheets at regular intervals in succession. Then, the conveying part conveys the taken sheet at a high speed by using a belt mechanism. The testing part tests whether each of the conveyed sheets has any damage respectively, that is, whether each of them should be recycled or discharged. Then, the classifying part classifies and guides the tested sheets into two ways respectively. The guided sheets are collected as sheets for recycling or as sheets for discharging respectively. Additional classifying parts can be arranged in the sheet processing unit.
The collected sheets as the sheets for discharging are then processed by a shredder or the like. The speed of the sheet processing is constant at several decade sheets per second. The conveying speed is constant at several meters per second. A typical conventional sheet processing unit is explained with reference to
FIGS. 23 and 24
.
FIG. 23
schematically shows the construction of the typical conventional sheet processing unit.
FIG. 24
is an enlarged view of a portion including a taking part of the conventional sheet processing unit. The conventional sheet processing unit
100
comprises: sheets
101
, a taking part
102
for taking the sheets, a conveying part
103
for conveying the taken sheets, a testing part
104
for testing the conveyed sheets, a classifying part
105
for classifying the sheets on the basis of the result of the testing, and a collecting part
106
for collecting the classified sheets respectively. These parts
102
to
106
are arranged in order of the reference numbers. The taking part
102
has a sheet supplying unit
110
, a taking unit
111
and a double-taking preventing unit
113
.
The sheets
101
are conveyed to the sheet supplying unit
110
by a conveying unit (not shown) as piled sheets. The piled sheets have n (desired number) sheets. The sheets
101
are taken one by one at regular intervals successively by the sheet supplying unit
110
and the taking unit
111
. Then, the taken sheets are supplied to a conveying way
112
. The double-taking preventing unit
113
, which is arranged at a distance from the taking unit
111
, prevents two or more sheets from being taken at one time. The testing unit part
104
is arranged above the sheets conveyed on the conveying way
112
that is formed backward (right in
FIG. 18
, downward of the sheet conveying direction) with respect to the taking unit
111
. The testing unit
104
tests a surface state (damaged state, soiled state) of each of the sheets
101
, which are conveyed one by one.
The collecting part
106
has a portion for collecting sheets that should be recycled and a portion for collecting sheets that should be discharged. The sheets are classified by the result of testing with the testing unit
104
, and guided into the portion for collecting sheets that should be recycled and the portion for collecting sheets that should be discharged, respectively. The respective guiding of the classified sheets is carried out by a facing-type gate unit
115
arranged on the conveying way
112
.
The collecting part
106
has also wheels with fins
117
. The wheels with fins
117
are adapted to receive and stop the sheets that are conveyed at a high speed. Then, the stopped sheets
101
fall and pile up again. The wheel
117
is roller-like, and the fins of the wheel
117
form spiral grooves around the center of the wheels
117
. The wheels with fins are driven by a stepping motor or the like. The sheets that should be recycled are conveyed out from the sheet processing unit as piled sheets which consist of desired number of sheets. The sheets that should be discharged are conveyed to the discharging process.
Photoelectric sensors
119
are arranged at desired positions on the conveying way
112
for detecting a passage of each of the sheets
101
. For simplicity, only one sensor
119
is shown in drawings. The photoelectric sensors
119
are also used for detecting timings of taking the sheets
101
, intervals thereof and a jammed state (sheet-staffed state). The sensors
119
are also used to confirm guiding state of the sheets
101
into the collecting part
106
and to calculate intervals of the guiding. In addition, one of the photoelectric sensors
119
, which is disposed just behind the taking unit
111
, is used to detect intervals of the sheets just after taken and/or skews of the sheets just after taken.
The taking part
102
of the sheet processing unit is explained in more detail as below, with reference to the FIG.
24
.
The taking part
102
has a sheet supplying unit
110
, a vacuum-absorption type of taking unit
111
and a double-taking preventing unit
113
.
The vacuum-absorption type of taking unit
111
has a vacuum chamber
121
with an opening. The inside of the chamber
121
can be maintained at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. A thin cylindrical rotor
122
is disposed around the chamber
121
, and is adapted to rotate around the same. Some holes are provided with the rotor
122
. A plain belt
123
supplies a driven force to the rotor
122
. The plain belt
123
also serves as a member of the conveying way
112
.
The opening of the vacuum chamber
121
is arranged at an opposite position to sheets piled on the sheet supplying unit
110
. When the rotor
122
rotates and the holes of the rotor
122
come above the opening of the chamber
121
, a vacuum absorption force appears. An absorption part herein means a surface formed by the holes at that time. In addition, an open-close controller such as an electromagnetic valve (not shown) is disposed in a tube or the like connecting the vacuum chamber
121
and a suction unit such as a vacuum pump (not shown). Thus, the pressure in the vacuum chamber
121
can be controlled.
The sheet supplying unit
110
has: a sheet stage
124
for supporting greater parts of the sheets
101
, a linear motor
125
fixed to the sheet stage
124
for generating a desired force, a lever
126
moved relatively with respect to the sheet stage
124
by the linear motor
125
, and a position sensor
127
fixed to the sheet stage
124
for detecting the position of the lever
126
.
The position sensor
127
is for example a non-contact type of displacement meter. The sheet stage
124
is connected to an actuator for driving via a transmitting mechanism such as a ball-screw (not shown). The actuator for driving is controlled by a controlling unit (not shown) on the basis of the value of the position sensor
127
.
As shown in
FIG. 2
, the double-taking preventing unit
113
has a chamber whose inside can be maintained at a pressure lower than the atmospheric pressure. The unit
113
also has a surface facing to the rotor
122
and having such a curvature that the surface is along the rotor
122
at a distance. The surface has some holes to the inside of the chamber. Then, the sheet passing between the rotor
122
and the do
Inoue Jun-ichi
Kamiyama Hiroyuki
Suzuki Takahiro
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Ridley Richard
Valenza Joseph E.
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