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EP2377790A2 - Vorrichtung zur Blatthandhabung - Google Patents

Vorrichtung zur Blatthandhabung Download PDF

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Publication number
EP2377790A2
EP2377790A2 EP11155156A EP11155156A EP2377790A2 EP 2377790 A2 EP2377790 A2 EP 2377790A2 EP 11155156 A EP11155156 A EP 11155156A EP 11155156 A EP11155156 A EP 11155156A EP 2377790 A2 EP2377790 A2 EP 2377790A2
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
sheet
rotation body
separation
suction
holes
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Withdrawn
Application number
EP11155156A
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Inventor
Yukio Asari
Todoriki Toru
Mitsuya Yusuke
Naruoka Yoshihiko
Hiramitsu Naruaki
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Toshiba Corp
Original Assignee
Toshiba Corp
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Application filed by Toshiba Corp filed Critical Toshiba Corp
Publication of EP2377790A2 publication Critical patent/EP2377790A2/de
Withdrawn legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/08—Separating articles from piles using pneumatic force
    • B65H3/12—Suction bands, belts, or tables moving relatively to the pile
    • B65H3/124—Suction bands or belts
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/02—Separating articles from piles using friction forces between articles and separator
    • B65H3/04—Endless-belt separators
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B07—SEPARATING SOLIDS FROM SOLIDS; SORTING
    • B07C—POSTAL SORTING; SORTING INDIVIDUAL ARTICLES, OR BULK MATERIAL FIT TO BE SORTED PIECE-MEAL, e.g. BY PICKING
    • B07C3/00—Sorting according to destination
    • B07C3/02—Apparatus characterised by the means used for distribution
    • B07C3/06—Linear sorting machines in which articles are removed from a stream at selected points
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/46—Supplementary devices or measures to assist separation or prevent double feed
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H3/00—Separating articles from piles
    • B65H3/46—Supplementary devices or measures to assist separation or prevent double feed
    • B65H3/52—Friction retainers acting on under or rear side of article being separated
    • B65H3/5246—Driven retainers, i.e. the motion thereof being provided by a dedicated drive
    • B—PERFORMING OPERATIONS; TRANSPORTING
    • B65—CONVEYING; PACKING; STORING; HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL
    • B65H—HANDLING THIN OR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL, e.g. SHEETS, WEBS, CABLES
    • B65H2701/00—Handled material; Storage means
    • B65H2701/10—Handled articles or webs
    • B65H2701/19—Specific article or web
    • B65H2701/1916—Envelopes and articles of mail

Definitions

  • Embodiments described herein relate generally to a sheet handling apparatus for picking up, one by one, accumulated sheets of, for example, paper.
  • a sheet handling apparatus which comprises a pickup device for sequentially picking up accumulated sheets of, for example, paper, beginning with the outermost one.
  • the pickup device has a picking roller to be brought into contact with the outermost sheet.
  • the picking roller has a plurality of suction holes. The outermost sheet is attached to the outer surface of the picking roller when air is drawn through the suction holes of the picking roller, and is picked up in accordance with the rotation of the picking roller.
  • a separation unit for separating the simultaneously picked sheets is provided downstream of the pickup device in the conveying direction of sheets.
  • the separation unit has a separation roller to which a force of rotation opposite to the pickup rotation is imparted.
  • the separation roller is provided on the opposite side of the pickup device, with a conveyor line for conveying the sheets interposed therebewteen.
  • the separation roller has a plurality of suction holes, through which air is drawn. When air is drawn through the holes, each sheet is attached to the outer surface of the separation roller. Thus, when simultaneously picked sheets pass through the separation unit, the sheet (to-be-subsequently-fed sheet) put into contact with the separation roller is backwardly moved and hence separated from the other sheet (to-be-firstly-fed sheet).
  • the suction holes of the separation roller are arranged at regular intervals in the direction of rotation, the sheet passing through the separation unit may not be supplied with a sufficient separation force.
  • a pickup device includes a separation mechanism for applying, to a to-be-subsequently-fed mail item picked up from accumulated mail items, a separation force exerting in a direction opposite to a mail item pickup direction.
  • This separation mechanism comprises: an outer drum with suction holes that face the to-be-subsequently-fed mail item during rotation; an inner drum provided inside and concentric with the outer drum and having air holes that overlap with the suction holes during rotation; a pump for drawing air through the suction holes facing the to-be-subsequently-fed mail item and the air holes overlapping with them to attach the to-be-subsequently-fed mail item to the outer peripheral surface of the outer drum.
  • a controller rotates the inner and outer drums in association with each other to apply a sufficient separation force to the to-be-subsequently-fed mail item.
  • FIG. 1 is a schematic block diagram illustrating a mail handling apparatus 100 (hereinafter referred to simply as "the handling apparatus 100") according to the invention.
  • the handling apparatus 100 comprises a pickup device 1 functioning as a sheet processing device.
  • the handling apparatus 100 comprises a determination unit 102, a rejection unit 104, a switchback unit 106 and an accumulation unit 108.
  • the handling apparatus 100 handles mail items, the to-be-handled medium (in the form of sheets) is not limited to mail matter.
  • Mail items are accumulated upright in the pickup device 1, picked up one by one, and fed to a conveyor line 101 when the pickup device 1 is operated as described later.
  • a conveyor line 101 along the conveyor line 101, pairs of endless conveyor belts (not shown) are located with the conveyor line 101 interposed therebetween, and are used to hold mail items therebetween to convey them.
  • Each mail item fed to the conveyor line 101 is passed through the determination unit 102, where information is read therefrom. Based on the read information, the determination unit 102 determines the conveying attitude and conveying destination of each mail item. More specifically, the determination unit 102 reads, from each mail item, destination information such as the postal code or address, thereby determining the destination.
  • the mail item passing through the determination unit 102 is sorted via a gate G1 . Namely, if the determination unit 102 determines that the mail item is to be rejected, the mail item is conveyed to the rejection unit 104 via the gate G 1, whereas if the mail item is determined not to be rejected, it is conveyed to the accumulation unit 108 via the gate G1 .
  • the mail item is fed to the switchback unit 106 via a gate G2, where its conveying direction is reversed.
  • the mail item, the conveying direction of which does not need be reversed, is made to bypass the switchback unit 106 via the gate G2 and is guided to the accumulation unit 108.
  • the mail item fed into the accumulation unit 108 through the conveyor line 101 is accumulated in a classification pocket (not shown) in accordance with the determination result of the determination unit 102.
  • classification pockets mail items are accumulated with their heads and tails aligned.
  • FIG. 2 illustrates the pickup device 1 when viewed from above.
  • the pickup device 1 comprises a receiving unit 2 for receiving a plurality of mail items P accumulated upright, a supply mechanism, described later, for forwardly moving the received mail items P toward a pickup position 20 and positioning the leading one of the mail items P at the pickup position 20, a pickup mechanism 3 for picking up the mail item P at the pickup position 20, a suction mechanism 4 for producing the flow of air to draw air so as to move the leading mail item P to the pickup position 20, a separation mechanism 5 for separating, from the leading mail item P, second and seq. mail items P simultaneously picked up along with the former, an auxiliary mechanism 6 located upstream of the suction mechanism 4 (downward in FIG. 2 ) in the pickup direction of the sheets positioned at the pickup position 20, and a conveyor mechanism 7 for pulling out each mail item P, passing through the separation mechanism 5, at a speed slightly higher than a pickup speed, and conveying it downstream.
  • the pickup device 1 also comprises two sensors 11a and 11b for detecting passing of the mail item P picked up from the pickup position 20 to a conveyor line 10, and a plurality of conveyor guides 12 to 18.
  • the sensors 21 to 26 each include an emission section and a light receiving section, which oppose each other with the conveyor line 10 interposed therebetween, and detect passing of the mail item P when their optical axes are crossed by the mail item.
  • the conveyor guides 12 to 18 are brought into contact with the edges or surfaces of the mail items P to guide them.
  • the receiving unit 2 simultaneously receives a plurality of mail items P accumulated upright.
  • two floor belts 8a and 8b are provided, which are to be brought into contact with the lower ends of mail items P to move the mail items P in the direction indicated by arrow F in FIG. 2 .
  • a backup plate 9 is provided at a position at which it is brought into contact with the surface of the rearmost one of the accumulated mail items P to supply the leading mail item P to the pickup position 20 along with the floor belt 8b. To this end, the backup plate 9 is connected to the floor belt 8b in a simple way, and is moved in the direction F when the floor belt 8b is driven.
  • the conveyor guide 18 extends parallel to the direction F to define one side of the receiving unit 2, and is used to guide the front end of each mail item P.
  • the conveyor guides 12, 13 and 14 are arranged along the pickup position 20, and function to stop, at the pickup position 20, the leading mail item P moved in the direction F, and to guide the mail item P picked up from the pickup position 20, kept in contact with one surface of the mail item P.
  • the pickup mechanism 3 comprises a chamber 21, a guide 14 and a vacuum pump 22 (or an equivalent).
  • the pickup mechanism 3 also comprises an endless pickup belt 23 which runs in the direction indicated by arrow T 1 (mail item P pickup direction) at least along the pickup position 20, a motor 24 for driving the pickup belt 23.
  • the pickup belt 23 is stretched between a plurality of rollers 25 so that it runs in the direction T 1 at least along the pickup position 20 and the conveyor line 10 (101) continuously extending from the pickup position 20.
  • the guide 14 is inside the pickup belt 23 and opposes the pickup position 20 with the pickup belt 23 interposed therebetween.
  • the chamber 21 opposes the rear side of the guide 14. Namely, the chamber 21 opposes the pickup position 20 with the pickup belt 23 and the guide 14 interposed therebetween.
  • the pickup belt 23 has a large number of suction holes 23a.
  • the guide 14 has a plurality of slits 14a extending along the line of the running direction T l of the pickup belt 23 (i.e., the pickup direction of each mail item P).
  • the suction force produced by the vacuum pump 22 in the direction indicated by arrow S1 is set to a value that enables the frictional force exerted between the pickup belt 23 and the mail item P drawn thereon to be at least greater than that exerted between the belt 23 and the subsequent mail item P, if these mail items P are simultaneously drawn.
  • the pickup mechanism 3 feeds, to the conveyor path 10 one by one, the mail items P positioned at the pickup position 20. However, if a plurality of mail items P are simultaneously fed to the conveyor path 10, they are separated from each other by a separation mechanism 5 described later.
  • the suction mechanism 4 comprises a chamber 26 located behind a conveyor guide 13 with respect to the pickup position 20, and a blower 27 (or an equivalent) for drawing air from the chamber 26.
  • the chamber 26 is located adjacent to the pickup position 20, with its opening (not shown) opposed to the backside of the guide 13. Further, the guide 13 has a plurality of holes 13a aligned with the opening of the chamber 26, as is evident form the partially enlarged view of FIG. 5 .
  • the suction mechanism 4 can quickly feed the subsequent mail item P to the pickup position 20, and therefore, even when the feeding force F of the supply mechanisms 8 and 9 is weak, the to-be-firstly-fed mail item P can be always reliably and quickly fed to the pickup position 20. This enhances the mail item pickup operation of the pickup mechanism 3.
  • the separation mechanism 5 is provided on the opposite side of the pickup mechanism 3 with respect to the conveyor path 10 that extends downstream of the pickup position 20 (i.e., downward in FIG. 2 ).
  • the separation mechanism 5 applies separation torque, exerted in the direction opposite to the pickup direction, to each mail item P conveyed through the conveyor path 10, while applying negative pressure thereto from the opposite side of the pickup mechanism 3. Namely, by operating the separation mechanism 5, if two or more mail items P are simultaneously picked up from the pickup position 20, the above-mentioned negative pressure and separation torque stop the feeding of the mail items P other than the to-be-firstly-fed one, or return them, whereby the to-be-firstly-fed mail item P is separated from the others.
  • the separation mechanism 5 comprises a separation drum 31 rotatable along the conveyor path 10 in opposite directions.
  • the separation drum of the embodiment has a double structure, as will be described later. A description will now be given of a structure example having a single separation drum 31.
  • the separation drum 31 is rotatably attached to a rotary shaft fixed to the conveyor path 10, namely, rotatably attached via a bearing 34 to a cylinder 32 having a chamber 33, described later, and has a large number of suction holes 31a formed through the cylinder.
  • the separation drum 31 has a substantially cylindrical rigid body made of, for example, a metal, and has its outer peripheral surface positioned near and opposed to the conveyor path 10.
  • FIG. 7 is a cross section taken along broken line VII-VII of FIG. 6 .
  • the separation mechanism 5 comprises an AC servo motor 35 for rotating the separation drum 31 in opposite directions with desired torque, and an endless timing belt 36 for transferring the driving force of the motor 35 to the separation drum 31.
  • the timing belt 36 is stretched between a pulley 35a fixed to the rotary shaft of the motor 35 and a pulley (not shown) fixed to the rotary shaft 31b (see FIG. 7 ) of the separation drum 31.
  • the separation mechanism 5 further comprises a vacuum pump 37 (or an equivalent), which is one example of a suction unit, connected via a pipe 38 to the chamber 33 of the cylinder 32 with the separation drum rotatably attached thereto.
  • the separation area As In this structure, when the vacuum pump 37 is operated to draw air from the chamber 33, negative pressure (indicated by arrow S2 in FIG. 7 ) is applied to the surface of the mail item P, conveyed by the conveyor path 10, via the opening 33a of the chamber 33, and a particular suction hole 310 included in the suction holes 31a of the separation drum 31 and opposing the opening 33a, whereby the mail item P is drawn onto the outer peripheral surface of the separation drum 31.
  • the separation drum 31 rotates, the separation force corresponding to the rotational force of the separation drum 31 is exerted on the mail item P attached to the outer peripheral surface of the drum 31.
  • the area, in which negative pressure is applied to the mail item P via the suction hole 310 of the separation drum 31, will hereinafter be referred to as "the separation area As.”
  • the AC servo motor 35 basically controls the separation drum 31 so that it always applies, to the separation drum 31, constant separation torque exerted in a direction (indicated by arrow T2) opposite to the pickup direction.
  • the separation torque is set to a value that enables the separation drum 31 to rotate so as to feed a single mail item P in the pickup direction when the single mail item P is conveyed on the conveyor path 10, and also enables the separation drum 31 to stop or return a mail item or mail items P closer to the drum than another mail item P to thereby separate the first-mentioned one (or ones) from said another one when a plurality of mail items P are simultaneously fed to the conveyor path 10.
  • the forward feeding force F1 (indicated by arrow T1) applied to the mail item P by the pickup mechanism 3 is greater than the backward separation force F2 applied to the same by the separation drum 31 that is driven by the backward separation torque (indicated by arrow T2).
  • the mail item P is conveyed in the forward direction T1, and the separation drum 31 rotates to feed the mail item P in the forward direction, or stops, or idles in the direction opposite to the pickup direction.
  • an upper limit is set for the backward rotational speed of the separation drum 31. More specifically, the upper limit is set to a value lower in absolute value than the pickup velocity.
  • the separation area As facing the separation drum 31 is set at the position at which the mail item P is drawn onto the pickup belt 23, i.e., at a position downstream (with respect to the pickup direction T1) of the position at which the chamber 21 faces the pickup position 20, it is strongly possible that even if the negative pressure S1 produced by the chamber 21 is made sufficiently lower than the negative pressure S2 produced by the separation drum 31, a single mail item P may be drawn to the separation drum 31.
  • the returning force of the separation drum 31 may well bend it as shown in FIG. 9 .
  • the feeding forces F1 and F2 are set to values sufficiently higher than the maximum values of the frictional forces F3 and F4, the to-be-subsequently-fed mail item P2, to which the backward separation force F2 is imparted, is returned in the direction T2 opposite to the pickup direction T1, and hence separated from the to-be-firstly-fed mail item P1 .
  • the separation drum 31 is made of a metal and configured to apply separation torque to each mail item P fed to the conveyor path 10, and also to apply negative pressure thereto, the life of duration of the separation drum (roller) can be significantly increased, the separation performance of the drum can be maintained in good conditions for a long time, the processing speed of each mail item P can be increased, and the throughput of processing can be enhanced, compared to conventional separation rollers made of rubber. Note that when only a single mail item P is picked up, it is strongly possible that the separation drum 21 will perform idling, and therefore in this case, no separation torque may be applied to the separation drum 31.
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 located above the suction mechanism 4, i.e., located upstream of the pickup mechanism 3 in the pickup direction T1, has substantially the same structure as the above-described separation mechanism 5.
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 comprises an auxiliary roller 51 located along the conveyor path 10 and configured to be rotatable in opposite directions.
  • the auxiliary roller 51 is rotatably attached to a fixed rotary shaft facing the pickup position 20, i.e., rotatably attached to a cylinder 53 having a chamber (not shown) therein, and has a large number of holes 52 formed through its cylindrical body. Further, the auxiliary roller 51 is formed by a substantially cylindrical rigid member made of, for example, a metal, and has its outer peripheral surface opposed to the pickup position 20.
  • the cylinder 53 as a rotary shaft has a chamber formed therein for producing negative pressure, and is fixed in position such that the opening (not shown) of the chamber faces the pickup position 20.
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 comprises an AC servo motor 65 for rotating the auxiliary roller 51 in opposite directions with desired torque, and an endless timing belt 56 for transferring the driving force of the motor 65 to the auxiliary roller 51.
  • the timing belt 56 is stretched between a pulley 55a fixed to the rotary shaft of the motor 55 and a pulley (not shown) fixed to the auxiliary roller 51 (not shown).
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 further comprises a vacuum pump 57 (or an equivalent) connected via a pipe 58 to the chamber of the cylinder 53 with the auxiliary roller 51 rotatably attached thereto.
  • An electromagnetic valve 59 is provided across the pipe 58 for turning on and off the negative pressure.
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 supports the mail item pickup and separation operations basically by rotating the auxiliary roller 51 at a desired speed in opposite directions and stopping the same, and turning on and off the vacuum pump 57.
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 when the pickup mechanism 3 picks up a mail item P positioned at the pickup position 20, the auxiliary mechanism 6 produces negative pressure at the rear end of the mail item P to draw the same to the outer peripheral surface of the auxiliary roller 51, and rotates the auxiliary roller 51 to feed the mail item P in the forward direction T1 .
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 when a relative heavy mail item P of a large size is picked up, it receives a greater feeding force than normal mail items P in a reliable manner, whereby the pickup operation of mail items P is stabilized.
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 can draw, to the auxiliary roller 51, the rear end of another mail item P to be subsequently fed to the pickup position 20, and apply backward-directional torque to the auxiliary roller 51 to brake the same.
  • the auxiliary mechanism 6 cooperates with the separation mechanism 5 to prevent simultaneous feeding of two or more mail items P.
  • the pitch of mail items P to be fed from the pickup position 20 to the conveyor path 10 can be controlled.
  • the separation mechanism 5 to reliably pick up mail items P one by one, the separation mechanism 5 must continuously and reliably apply a separation force to a to-be-subsequently-fed mail item P picked up simultaneously along with a to-be-firstly-fed mail item P.
  • a sufficient separation force may not be applied, depending upon the angular position of the drum.
  • the separation drum 31 of the separation mechanism 5 is formed to have a double structure to prevent undesired air inflow.
  • FIGS. 12 to 14 a modification 5' of the separation mechanism 5 of the first embodiment, which incorporates a separation drum of the double structure, will be described.
  • the separation mechanism 5' comprises a cylinder 62 having a chamber 61 (see FIGS. 13b and 14b ) defined therein, an inner drum 64 (inner rotary body or rotation body) concentrically provided around the cylinder, and an outer drum 64 (outer rotary body or rotation body) concentrically provided around the cylinder.
  • the inner and outer drums 64 and 66 cooperate with each other to function like the separation drum 31.
  • the inner drum 64 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the cylinder 62 so that it can rotate about the cylinder 62.
  • the outer drum 66 has an inner diameter slightly larger than the outer diameter of the inner drum 64 so that it can independently rotate about the inner drum 64.
  • the chamber 61 of the cylinder 62 is connected to the vacuum pump 37 via the pipe 38 so that the air therein can be drawn by the vacuum pump 37.
  • the cylinder 62 is fixed in position near the conveyor path 10 with the opening 61a (see FIGS. 13 and 14 ) of the chamber 61 opposed to the separation area As.
  • the inner drum 64 has a plurality of air holes 63
  • the outer drum 66 has a plurality of suction holes 65.
  • the air holes 63 are arranged in rows and columns over the entire periphery of the inner drum 64.
  • the suction holes 65 are arranged in rows and columns over the entire periphery of the outer drum 66.
  • the number of the air holes 63 is equal to that of the suction holes 65.
  • the pitch of the suction holes 65 of the outer drum 66 in the direction of rotation is slightly greater than that of the air holes 63 of the inner drum 64 in the direction of rotation.
  • the separation mechanism 5' further comprises a driving motor 72 for rotating the inner drum 64 in opposite directions at desired speed, a driving motor 74 for rotating the outer drum 66 in opposite directions at desired speed independent of the inner drum 64, and a control unit 76 for controlling the two driving motors 72 and 74.
  • the driving motor 72 is connected to the inner drum 64 via an endless driving belt 73
  • the driving motor 74 is connected to the outer drum 66 via an endless driving belt 75.
  • the driving motors 72 and 74 are AC servo motors, the angular positions of which can be accurately controlled by the controller 76 to rotate the drums 64 and 66 to desired angular positions at desired speeds.
  • the suction holes 651 communicate with the chamber 61 via another column of air holes 631, as in the case of the separation drum 31 described above as a reference example.
  • the rotational speed of the inner drum 64 is made different from that of the outer drum 66.
  • FIGS. 15 and 16 a more detailed description will be given of the control operation of the inner drum 64.
  • the outer drum 66 is rotated at a constant speed, while the inner drum 64 is accelerated and decelerated. Namely, in this case, only the inner drum 64 is a control target.
  • FIG. 16 is a graph indicating changes with time in the rotational speed of the inner drum 64 corresponding to the states shown in FIG. 15 .
  • the inner drum 64 When the outer drum 66 is further rotated at a constant speed in the backward direction, the inner drum 64 is accelerated in the backward direction so as to advance its retarded relative angular position and shift to the state shown in (d) of FIG. 15 via the state shown in (c) of FIG. 15 . As a result, the angular position of the inner drum 64 advances relative to that of the outer drum 66. Namely, from the state shown in (b) of FIG. 15 to the state shown in (d) of FIG. 15 , the inner drum 64 is accelerated in the backward direction. In the state shown in (d) of FIG. 15 , the rotational speed of the inner drum 64 is higher than that of the outer drum 66.
  • air is introduced into the chamber 61 to increase the internal pressure thereof only for the time period ranging from the state shown in (c) of FIG. 15 to the state shown in (d) of FIG. 15 .
  • this time period is just a moment, and therefore the internal pressure of the chamber 61 does not significantly vary.
  • the modification of the first embodiment provides a separation mechanism 5' capable of maintaining a relatively strong suction force for a relatively long time, thereby capable of applying a sufficient and reliable separation force to each mail item P as a separation target.
  • a separation mechanism 5' capable of maintaining a relatively strong suction force for a relatively long time, thereby capable of applying a sufficient and reliable separation force to each mail item P as a separation target.
  • the separation force to the mail item P is produced by backwardly rotating the outer drum 66, and is substantially proportional to the suction force for attaching the mail item P to the outer peripheral surface of the outer drum 66. Namely, to control the separation force, it is sufficient if the flow of air drawn into the chamber 61 is controlled.
  • the inner and outer drums 64 and 66 are rotated to their respective positions shown in FIG. 13 to completely overlap the particular air holes 630 and suction holes 650 with the opening 61a of the chamber 61. In this state, a great amount of air can be introduced into the chamber 61 via the particular air holes 630 and suction holes 650, thereby applying a maximum separation force to the mail item P as the separation target.
  • the separation force of the separation mechanism 5' be set in accordance with the type of the separation target.
  • the separation mechanism 5' of the first embodiment controls the suction force applied to the mail item P as the separation target to control the separation force applied thereto
  • a method may be employed in which the particular air holes 630 of the inner drum 64 is deviated from the opening 61a of the chamber 61 as shown in FIG. 17 .
  • the angular position of the outer drum 66 is adjusted, instead of adjusting the angular position of the inner drum 64, to deviate the particular suction holes 650. This enables the amount of air introduced into the chamber 61 via the particular air holes 630 and suction holes 650 to be adjusted, whereby the suction force and hence the separation force can be adjusted to a desired value.
  • the angular position of the inner drum 64 relative to the outer drum 66 is controlled as shown in (b) of FIG. 18 .
  • the rotational speed of the inner drum 64 is controlled so that the subsequent column of suction holes 651 do not communicate with the opening 61a of the chamber 61 when the mail item P as the separation target is drawn through the particular suction holes 650.
  • the inner drum 64 is controlled as shown in, for example, FIGS. 19 and 20 .
  • (a) to (g) of FIG. 19 are views useful in explaining the operations of the inner and outer drums 64 and 66
  • FIG. 20 is a graph indicating changes with time in the rotational speed of the inner drum 64 corresponding to the states shown in FIG. 19 .
  • only the inner drum 64 is a control target, since the outer drum 66 is rotated at a constant speed.
  • the inner drum 64 When a mail item P as a separation target is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the outer drum 66, and the outer drum 66 slightly rotates at a constant speed from the angular position shown in (a) of FIG. 19 in the backward direction T2, the inner drum 64 also rotates at the same speed in the backward direction as shown in (b) of FIG. 19 and indicated by symbol a in FIG. 20 . Namely, during the time period when the state shifts from a to b, the inner drum 64 is rotated in the backward direction at the same speed as the outer drum 66. During this period, the degree of overlap between the particular suction holes 650 and the particular air holes 630 is also maintained, the suction force applied to the mail item P, i.e., the separation force applied thereto, is maintained at a desired value.
  • the inner drum 64 is decelerated to a rotational speed lower than the outer drum 66 to reach the state shown in (f) of FIG. 19 , after assuming the states shown in (d) and (e) of FIG. 19 .
  • the state shown in (f) of FIG. 19 is substantially the same as the state shown in (a) of FIG. 19 , except that the opening 61a of the chamber 61 faces the subsequent column of suction holes 651 and the subsequent column of air holes 631. Further, the state shown in (g) of FIG. 19 corresponds to the state shown in (b) of FIG. 19 .
  • control method can adjust, to a desired value, the separation force applied to the mail item P as the separation target, with the result that the separation force can be kept at the desired value for a relatively long time.
  • the first embodiment provides the separation mechanism 5' capable of applying an appropriate separation force in accordance with the type of a medium as a separation target, thereby reducing the degree of occurrence of "simultaneous feeding" in which a plurality of mail items P stacked on each other are simultaneously fed, and hence enhancing the processing capacity of the entire processing apparatus.
  • FIGS. 21 and 22 illustrate the essential structure of a separation mechanism 5" according to a second embodiment. More specifically, (a) of FIG. 21 is a perspective view illustrating a structure in which the outer drum 66 incorporates a plurality of suction holes (650, 651) arranged in a zigzag manner so that the holes are positioned as close as to each other in the direction of rotation. (b) of FIG. 21 is a sectional view of the structure shown in (a) of FIG. 21. (a) and (b) of FIG. 22 show a state in which the inner and outer drums 64 and 66 are slightly rotated in the backward direction from their angular positions shown in (a) and (b) of FIG. 21 .
  • the separation mechanism 5" of the second embodiment is similar to the separation mechanism 5' of the first embodiment except that in the former, the suction holes (650, 651) of the outer drum 66 are arranged in a zigzag manner to increase the number of the holes, and the air holes (630, 631) of the inner drum 64 are also arranged in a zigzag manner in accordance with the suction holes of the outer drum 66. Accordingly, in the second embodiment, elements similar to those of the first embodiment are denoted by corresponding reference numbers, and no detailed description will be given thereof.
  • the pitch of the suction holes (and the air holes) in the direction of rotation is narrower than in the first embodiment. Therefore, the internal pressure of the chamber 61 can be more easily increased than in the separation mechanism 5' of the first embodiment. Namely, in the second embodiment, air can be more easily introduced into the chamber 61 than in the first embodiment, since the subsequent column of suction holes 651 and the subsequent column of air holes 631 can be opposed to the opening 61a of the chamber 61 by more slightly reversing the drums 64 and 66 than in the first embodiment.
  • the outer drum 66 is rotated at a constant speed, and the inner drum 64 is accelerated and decelerated, the invention is not limited to this. Instead, the inner drum 64 may be rotated at a constant speed, and the outer drum 66 be accelerated and decelerated. Yet alternatively, both the rotational speeds of the inner and outer drums 64 and 66 may be varied.

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EP11155156A 2010-04-15 2011-02-21 Vorrichtung zur Blatthandhabung Withdrawn EP2377790A2 (de)

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DE102011120475A1 (de) * 2011-12-08 2013-06-13 Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Aktiengesellschaft Bogenanleger mit zwei Saugrädern
CN103028549B (zh) * 2012-11-23 2014-03-05 上海邮政科学研究院 一种用于信函分拣的单封分离装置
CN103407805B (zh) * 2013-08-07 2016-01-20 上海邮政科学研究院 一种信函分离输送的吹吸气系统
DE102014224833A1 (de) * 2014-12-04 2016-06-09 Heidelberger Druckmaschinen Ag Saugfläche
CN107444936B (zh) * 2017-09-13 2019-03-22 河南省新斗彩印刷有限公司 胶印瓦楞贴面机瓦楞片全自动上纸分叠翻张装置
US11214453B2 (en) 2018-07-23 2022-01-04 Hewlett-Packard Development Company, L.P. Media transfer
CN110642043B (zh) * 2019-10-08 2020-12-01 浙江智柔科技有限公司 一种利用负压吸附的面膜纸分离设备
CN116331884B (zh) * 2023-05-30 2023-08-01 中科摩通(常州)智能制造股份有限公司 一种基于新能源电池生产的上料装置及其上料方法

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JP3349360B2 (ja) * 1996-09-13 2002-11-25 シャープ株式会社 給紙装置
JP3735565B2 (ja) * 2001-12-06 2006-01-18 株式会社東芝 紙葉類取出装置及び紙葉類取出制御方法
JP2008297095A (ja) * 2007-06-01 2008-12-11 Toshiba Corp 紙葉類取り出し装置
CN201287978Y (zh) * 2008-09-27 2009-08-12 杭州惠宝机电有限公司 真空吸纸的进纸机构

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CN102219125A (zh) 2011-10-19
PH12011000060A1 (en) 2013-04-15

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