WO2019044109A1 - Paper sheet separation and conveyance device, and paper sheet handling device - Google Patents

Abstract

The present invention realizes, in a simple and inexpensive configuration, highly reliable separation work, while using a single motor, in order from the first paper sheet of paper sheets fed in an overlapped manner. The present invention is provided with: a feeding portion (20) that feeds paper sheets one by one from a paper sheet stack by use of a feeding roller (30); a separation portion (100) that performs separation work for paper sheets in an overlapped-fed state; and a drawing and conveyance portion (250) that draws and conveys a paper sheet (P1) which partially remains in the separation portion. The feeding portion is provided with a drive transmission delay mechanism (D) that delays the transmission of drive force by providing at least one relative rotation section (80) between the feeding roller and an upstream-side transmission member (60). The drive transmission delay mechanism is provided with a configuration in which the feeding roller and the upstream-side transmission member are able to perform bidirectional relative rotation between an initial positional relation and an end positional relation in the positional relations thereof, and in which drive force is not transmitted to the upstream-side transmission member (60) during a period until the end positional relation is reached from the initial positional relation, and drive force is transmitted after the end positional relation is reached.

Description

Sheet separating and conveying apparatus, and sheet handling apparatus

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a sheet separating and conveying apparatus having a separating function for preventing double feeding, and a sheet handling apparatus.

A bill handling apparatus provided with a mechanism for taking out, feeding, and transporting sheet banknotes one by one from a stack of banknotes is equipped with a double feed preventing mechanism for preventing double feeding of banknotes.
For example, in a bill handling machine such as a bill depositing machine, a bill counting machine, various types of automatic vending machines, money changers, etc., which receive bills one by one from a bill bundle set in the depositing unit In order to prevent the deposit process, counting process, etc., a double feed prevention mechanism is provided.
As a double feed preventing mechanism, there is provided a separation roller pair that prevents passage of the second and subsequent bills when the bills fed out by the feed roller rotating in contact with the bottom bill of the bill bundle are in a double feed state There is. The separation roller pair includes a feed roller which is driven to rotate in the sheet feeding direction, and a brake roller which is disposed above the feed roller and is made of a high friction material and nipped with the feed roller.

By the way, in the double feeding, there is a type in which the first bill fed out in contact with the feeding roller is advanced to be superimposed on the second bill located on the upper side and conveyed to the separation roller pair, and the second bill is There is a type in which the first banknote is overlapped and conveyed to the separation roller pair while preceding it. In the former type of double feeding, the separation function functions properly because the leading first bill is delivered by the feed roller, while the succeeding second bill is blocked from advancing by the brake roller. However, in the latter type of double feed, while the second bill is advanced into the separation nip portion of the separation roller pair by the rotation of the feed roller, it is sent out, while the subsequent first banknote is Since it slips through the separation nip along the lower surface of the second bill without contacting the brake roller, it passes the separation nip together with the second bill.

In the double feed prevention mechanism, the separation condition does not hold unless the first bill in contact with the delivery roller is sent in advance to the separation nip portion of the separation roller pair, but the above-mentioned may be Thus, when the feed roller rotates, the first sheet precedes the second sheet and the second sheet enters the separation nip, and as a result, the brake roller serving to block the passage of the second sheet does not function. Both sheets are fed twice through the separation nip, resulting in separation failure.
In particular, when a bundle of banknotes with an irregular tip is set, or when a banknote fed from a bundle of banknotes of different lengths around the world is separated, the second and subsequent ones are inserted before the first. It is necessary for the first sheet to be reliably advanced and fed out to the separation portion, since bills are likely to intrude into the separation nip portion to cause double feeding.

In order to prevent such double feeding, it is effective not to drive the feed roller until the feeding of the bill is finished by rotating the feeding roller by a predetermined amount, but for that purpose, the feeding roller and the feed roller are separate It is necessary to control to switch the drive timing of both rollers in order to drive by the motor, but when aiming at small size, light weight and cost reduction, the configuration that requires two motors and complicated control is needed. It will be a disadvantage.
So far, no technology has been proposed for switching the drive timing of the delivery roller and the feed roller by one motor.
As a type in which the feed roller and feed roller are driven by a single motor, there is a type in which the feed roller is driven by the motor and the driving force from the same motor is transmitted to the feed roller to drive both rollers at the same time. However, of course, it has not been possible to cope with the type of double feed in which the second bill precedes the first one.

Although Patent Document 1 and Patent Document 2 disclose inventions in which the lengths between the banknotes are equalized by the auxiliary feeding roller provided separately from the feeding roller, the auxiliary feeding roller requires a separate drive source. Therefore, it does not become complicated, large-sized, and inexpensive.
Although the structure which does not use an auxiliary delivery roller is disclosed by patent document 3, it is essential to make it the state which stood up the banknote bundle, and there are many types which pile up a banknote bundle in the up-down direction. There are many limitations in applying this invention.
Such problems occur not only in banknotes but also in other devices for processing other paper sheets such as securities, bills, ballots and the like.

Next, FIGS. 18 (a) and 18 (b) are views showing an example of a conventional bill separation and transfer mechanism, wherein a bill stacking portion 500 for piling a bill bundle P and a bill bundle P are rotated by rotating in a transport direction a. A delivery roller 505 for delivering the first bill P1 at the bottom, a feed roller 520 connected to the delivery roller via the timing belt 510, and integrally rotating with the delivery roller 505, and disposed immediately above the feed roller And a brake roller 525 that forms a separation nip portion N1 with the feed roller circumferential surface.
When only the first bill is fed out by the delivery roller 505 and passes through the separation nip portion N1, as shown in FIG. There will be no problems in feeding and separation work.

On the other hand, when the second and subsequent banknotes P2 are double-fed together with the first banknote P1 and the second and subsequent banknotes are prevented from advancing by the brake roller 525, only the first banknote P1 is in the separation nip portion. In the next bill feeding operation, as shown in (b), the tip of the bill is brought into contact with the bill Px that has entered the separation nip during the previous feeding, or the brake roller and brought close to it. A separation operation is performed by the rotation of the feed roller in a state in which the paper money Py in the state remains in the separation portion. For this reason, the residual banknotes advance into the separation nip portion prior to the newly fed banknotes, or a plurality of sheets simultaneously enter the separation nip portion, which is an obstacle to the separation work, and passes through the separation nip portion in the double feeding state It causes you to

According to Patent Document 4, the bill separation operation is performed when a conveyance abnormality occurs in a bill separated while performing a bill separation operation in which bills are separated one by one from a bill bundle on the bill stacking portion and fed out to the conveyance path. In order to return to the bill stacker a bill that has caused a conveyance error, the motor is reversed.
However, there is a problem that the return operation for reversing the motor brings about a delay of operation time, complication of control, addition of a detection sensor, and the like.

JP, 2010-143767, A Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2004-155539 JP, 2009-263139, A JP, 2016-170639, A

The present invention has been made in view of the above, and the double feed sheet is subjected to the separation to provide only the first sheet downstream without delaying the separation operation, complication of control, and addition of a detection sensor. A sheet separating and conveying apparatus that returns and transports the remaining sheets remaining in the separating section upstream to the side after the operation of passing the sheet to the side so as not to be an obstacle in the next separating operation, and the sheet The purpose is to provide a handling device.

In order to achieve the above object, the sheet separating and conveying apparatus is configured such that the sheet feeding unit feeds the sheets from the sheet bundle one by one by the feeding roller, and the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit is in the double feeding state. A separation unit for passing only the first sheet in advance and delivering it to the downstream side and preventing the advance of the second and subsequent sheets, and a first sheet having a part remaining in the separation section After the first paper sheet passes through the separation unit, the extraction / conveyance unit that draws out and conveys the paper sheet, the relay transmission unit that transmits the driving force between the delivery unit and the separation unit, and the separation unit A sheet separating and conveying apparatus comprising: a double sheet returning mechanism for returning the remaining second and subsequent sheets to the upstream side; and control means for controlling various control targets, wherein the feeding unit A roller shaft and the feeding rollers which rotate around the feed roller shaft and are sequentially arranged in the axial direction; Roller, an upstream transmission member, a feed motor for driving the delivery roller in the forward direction in the conveyance direction, and at least one relative rotation section between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member And a drive transmission delay mechanism for delaying transmission of the driving force in both directions, wherein the separation unit contacts the first sheet surface fed by the delivery roller when it is rotated in the normal direction and transports the sheet surface. A feed roller, and a friction separation member that forms a separation nip portion between the feed roller and that prevents advance of the second and subsequent sheets, and the relay transmission portion is coaxial with the feed roller. And a relay transmission member relaying the transmission of the driving force between the upstream transmission member and the downstream transmission member, and the double sheet return mechanism Is the feed It is disposed between a return lever rotatably supported by the shaft of the roller relative to each other, the shaft of the feed roller and the return lever, and the torque difference between the shaft and the return lever is constant. The shaft portion and a torque limiter for integrally rotating the return lever in the forward direction unless the value exceeds a limit, and elastic urging means for urging the return lever in the return direction A drawer conveyance member disposed at a downstream side position at a distance shorter than the length in the conveyance direction of the paper sheet to form a draw-out nip, and a drawer conveyance motor driving the drawer conveyance member; The drive transmission delay mechanism makes the circumferential positional relationship between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member relatively rotatable in both directions between the initial positional relationship and the final positional relationship, and the above-mentioned relative to the upstream transmission member Feeding low The apparatus is configured not to transmit the driving force to the upstream transmission member while the positional relationship between the las reaches the initial positional relationship to the final positional relationship, and to transmit the driving force after the final positional relationship is reached. The control unit is configured to perform the feeding roller by the sheet feeding motor at an appropriate timing when the first sheet fed by the feeding roller reaches the drawing nip portion when the feed roller rotates in the normal direction. And the feed roller, the relay transmission member, and the relay transmission member using the conveyance force of the first sheet by stopping the driving of the feed roller and performing the drawing and conveyance of the sheet by the drawing and conveying member. The upstream end of the upstream transfer member rotates in the forward direction, and the rear end of the sheet passes through the separation nip portion with respect to the delivery roller in which the upstream transfer member in forward rotation is in the stop state Relative rotation within the range of the relative rotation section, the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member return to the initial positional relationship at the end of relative rotation of the upstream transmission member, and the return lever is the feed roller The shaft portion and the slip after reaching a stop position rotated in the forward rotation direction against the return spring by integrally rotating with the shaft portion of the feed roller by the action of the torque limiter at the start of normal rotation of the shaft. While the motor is stopped, when the rear end of the first sheet of paper leaves the separation nip, the return lever rotates in the return direction by the force of the return spring and the feed roller in the return direction. The second and subsequent sheets remaining in the separation unit are moved in the return direction by rotating.

According to the present invention, the separation process is applied to the fed-out paper sheet, and when the operation of passing only the first paper sheet to the downstream side is finished, the remaining paper sheets remaining in the separation section are made upstream. It can be transported back so as not to be an obstacle in the next separation operation.

It is a front view showing a schematic structure of a bill separation conveyance device as an example of a paper leaf separation conveyance device concerning a first embodiment of the present invention. (A) is a plan view of the bill separating and transporting apparatus, (b) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of (a), and (c) is a cross-sectional view taken along the line BB of (a). (A) (b) and (c) are front side perspective views of a state in which the delivery roller, timing clutch, and upstream timing pulley are assembled to the delivery roller shaft, showing a state in which the delivery roller shaft is removed from the configuration of (a) It is a front side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division piece of the delivery roller of the front side from the structure of a front side perspective view and (b). (A) (b) and (c) are rear side perspective views of the delivery roller, the timing clutch, and the upstream timing pulley assembled to the delivery roller shaft, and (a) the rear surface showing the delivery roller shaft removed It is a rear side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division | segmentation piece of the delivery roller by the side of a front, and a perspective view. It is explanatory drawing of the procedure which eliminates double feeding, (a) is a principal part front view of a bill separation conveyance device, (b) is operation explanatory drawing in the 1st relative rotation section, (c) is the 2nd relative rotation section It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the inside. It is explanatory drawing of the procedure which eliminates double feeding, (a) is a principal part front view of a bill separation conveyance device, (b) is operation explanatory drawing in the 1st relative rotation section, (c) is the 2nd relative rotation section It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the inside. It is explanatory drawing of the procedure which eliminates double feeding, (a) is a principal part front view of a bill separation conveyance device, (b) is operation explanatory drawing in the 1st relative rotation section, (c) is the 2nd relative rotation section It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the inside. It is explanatory drawing of the procedure which eliminates double feeding, (a) is a principal part front view of a bill separation conveyance device, (b) is operation explanatory drawing in the 1st relative rotation section, (c) is the 2nd relative rotation section It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the inside. It is explanatory drawing of the procedure which eliminates double feeding, (a) is a principal part front view of a bill separation conveyance device, (b) is operation explanatory drawing in the 1st relative rotation section, (c) is the 2nd relative rotation section It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the inside. (A) is a front view showing a state in which the return lever is operated to return the remaining banknotes, (b) is an explanatory view of the operation in the first relative rotation section, (c) is in the second relative rotation section FIG. (A) And (b) is a perspective view which shows the structure of a double paper feeding return mechanism, and a disassembled perspective view. It is a flowchart which shows the operation | movement procedure of 1st embodiment. (A) And (b) is a top view which shows the principal part structure of the banknote separation conveyance apparatus 1 which concerns on 2nd embodiment, and explanatory drawing which shows operation | movement of the engaging part in a relative rotation area, and a to-be-engaged part ( CC sectional view). (A) (b) and (c) are front side perspective views of a state in which the delivery roller and the upstream timing pulley are assembled to the delivery roller shaft in the second embodiment, and the delivery roller shaft is removed from the configuration of (a) They are a front side perspective view which shows a state, and a front side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division piece of the delivery roller of the front side from the structure of (b). (A) (b) and (c) are rear side perspective views of the second embodiment in which the delivery roller and the upstream timing pulley are assembled to the delivery roller shaft, and the delivery roller shaft is removed from the configuration of (a) It is a back side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division piece of the delivery roller of the front side from the structure of the back side which shows a state, and (b). (A), (b) and (c) are a plan view, a front view, and a perspective view showing another configuration example of the relay transmission mechanism in the dispensing unit and the separating unit of the banknote separating and conveying apparatus according to the second embodiment. . It is sectional drawing which shows schematic structure of the banknote discrimination device as an example of the banknote handling apparatus which can apply the banknote separation conveyance apparatus which concerns on 1st embodiment and 2nd embodiment of this invention, respectively. (A) and (b) are figures which show an example of the conventional banknote separation conveyance mechanism.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail by embodiments shown in the drawings.
First Embodiment
[Description of basic configuration]
FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of a bill separating and conveying apparatus as an example of a sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 (a) is a plan view of the bill separating and conveying apparatus It is a figure, (b) is an AA sectional view of (a), (c) is a BB sectional view of (a). 3 (a), (b) and (c) are front side perspective views of the delivery roller, timing clutch, and upstream timing pulley assembled to the delivery roller shaft, and the delivery roller shaft is removed from the configuration of (a). It is a front side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division piece of the delivery roller of the front side from the structure of the front side which shows the state which carried out, and the structure of (b), and FIG.4 (a) (b) and (c) A rear side perspective view of a state in which the feeding roller, timing clutch, and upstream timing pulley are assembled to the feeding roller shaft, a rear side perspective view showing a state in which the feeding roller shaft is removed from (a), and It is a back side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division | segmentation piece of the delivery roller. 5 to 9 are diagrams for explaining the procedure for eliminating the double feed generated by the driving of the delivery roller. FIG. 10 (a) is a front view showing a state in which the return lever is actuated to return the remaining banknotes, (b) is an operation explanatory view in the first relative rotation section, (c) is the second relative rotation section It is operation | movement explanatory drawing in the inside. FIG. 12 is a flow chart showing the double feed cancellation procedure, and FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b) are a perspective view and an exploded perspective view showing the configuration of the return lever and the torque limiter that constitute the double feed banknote return mechanism.
In the present specification, a bill will be mainly described as an example of a paper leaf, but the present apparatus can also be applied to separation and conveyance of a paper leaf other than a bill. In addition to paper sheets, paper sheets also include sheets made of resin and other materials.

The bill separating and conveying apparatus (paper sheet separating and conveying apparatus) 1 is a delivery roller from a bill bundle P composed of a plurality of bills stacked in a stack in the vertical direction or diagonally vertical direction on the bill stacking unit (paper sheet stacking unit) 10. When double feeding occurs in which the second and subsequent bills overlap and are conveyed in the process of feeding one sheet at a time from the bottommost bill P1 by 30, the pair of separating rollers 110 and 130 other than the first bill P1. The configuration is such that only the first bill is transported downstream while preventing the forward movement of the bills (the second and subsequent bills).
In particular, in the present invention, the second bill P2 is the first bill while using only the single sheet feeding motor 70 which directly drives the feeding roller as a driving source used for the feeding unit 20 and the separating unit 100. The separation failure caused by being supplied to the separation unit 100 in a state precedent to the drive of the delivery roller and the double feed prevention roller (feed roller) by the configuration for realizing the mechanical time difference drive by the drive transmission delay mechanism D It cancels by making the timing different.

The bill separating and conveying apparatus 1 is in a double-fed state in which a feeding unit 20 feeds out the bills P1 at the bottom from the bill bundle P loaded in the bill stacking unit 10 one by one and the bills fed out from the feeding unit 20 At the same time, the separation unit 100 has a separation nip N1 for passing only the first bill P1 and delivering it to the downstream side and preventing the advance of the second and subsequent bills, and a part remains in the separation unit The first conveying unit 250 for drawing out and conveying the first banknote P1 from the front end, the relay transmission unit 200 for transmitting the driving force between the feeding unit and the separating unit, and the first banknote passing the separating unit 100 A double feed banknote return mechanism (double feed paper) for preventing the second and subsequent banknotes remaining in the separation section from being an obstacle for the banknotes that are further fed and separated by being returned to the upstream side later. Leaf return mechanism) and various control targets And Gosuru control unit 300, and schematically a. The feeding unit 20 and the separating unit 100 constitute a sheet feeding unit 15. A not-shown identification unit, a counting unit, a cash box, and the like are disposed downstream of the drawer conveyance unit 250.

The delivery unit 20 extends in a direction perpendicular to the bill conveyance direction, and rotates around the delivery roller shaft 21 rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown) and the delivery roller shaft 21, and sequentially along the axial direction The delivery roller (pickup roller) 30, the timing clutch (clutch member) 50, and the upstream timing pulley (upstream transmission member) 60, which are arranged adjacent to each other, and the delivery roller 30 are driven in the bill conveyance direction (forward rotation direction) a. Relative rotation sections 40 and 45 are provided between the feeding motor (delivery motor) 70, the delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50, and between the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60, respectively, for both forward and reverse directions. Drive transmission delay mechanism D for delaying (disconnecting) transmission of driving force, and detecting that a bill bundle P has been set on the bill stacking unit 10 Start sensor is provided with a (bill set detection sensor) 75, a.

The delivery roller 30, the timing clutch 50, and the upstream timing pulley 60 rotate about the common delivery roller shaft 21 and are configured to be relatively rotatable within a predetermined circumferential play range. While the delivery roller 30 is fixed to the delivery roller shaft 21 by the parallel pin 22 and integrally rotates, the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60 are separately rotatable relative to the delivery roller shaft 21, respectively. It is pivotally supported.
The delivery roller 30 is a means for coming into contact with the lower surface of the (first) banknote P1 at the bottom of the banknote stacker 10 when rotating in the banknote transport direction a.
The driving force from the sheet feeding motor 70 is transmitted to the feeding roller 30 via the output gear 70 a, the driven gear 71, the feeding roller shaft 21, and the parallel pin 22.

In this example, the driven gear 71 integrated with the delivery roller shaft 21 is rotationally driven by the output gear 70a of the feed motor 70, and the delivery roller 30 (division pieces 30a, 30b) by the parallel pin 22 with respect to the delivery roller shaft. The shaft center of the above is fixed, but this is an example, and the delivery roller may be rotatably assembled around the non-rotating delivery roller shaft. In this case, although not shown, the driven gear integrated with the delivery roller is driven by the output gear 70a of the sheet feeding motor.
The delivery roller 30 of this embodiment is composed of two split pieces 30a and 30b, and the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60 are disposed between the two split pieces. The delivery roller may be disposed at the position of one of the divided pieces 30a. As described later, since the other divided piece 30b does not directly participate in the operation in which the delivery roller 30 sequentially interlocks with the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60 via the relative rotation section, the claims, And in the present specification, the delivery roller 30 mainly refers to one of the divided pieces 30a.

The timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60 are configured to be independently and independently rotatable relative to the delivery roller shaft 21 and the delivery roller 30 (divided pieces 30 a). The delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50 are configured to be relatively capable of normal and reverse rotation within the range of a predetermined first relative rotation section 40 (circumferential play). The timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60 are configured so as to be capable of relatively reverse rotation within the range of a predetermined second relative rotation section 45 (circumferential play).
The separation unit 100 is disposed parallel to the delivery roller shaft 21 downstream of the delivery roller shaft 21 in the bill conveyance direction, and rotates around the feed roller shaft 101 rotatably supported by a bearing (not shown) and the feed roller shaft. A feed roller 110 as a separation roller for conveying the lower surface of the first bill P1 delivered by the delivery roller when it rotates in the transport direction a, and a feed roller disposed above the feed roller 110; And a brake roller (friction separation member) 130 as a separation roller having a high friction portion on the circumferential surface. By arranging the one-way clutch 130 a on the shaft portion of the brake roller 130, only rotation in a direction (counterclockwise direction) to return the bill is possible.

The feed roller 110 and the brake roller 130 constitute a pressure roller friction roller type separation roller pair (separation mechanism). The bill fed out by the forward rotation of the delivery roller 30 is fed to the separation point (separation nip N1) where the feed roller 110 and the brake roller 130 face and press against each other, and the forward movement of the second and subsequent bills is stopped. , Separating only the first bill from the second bill and sending it in the forward direction.
The feed roller 110 has a configuration in which two divided pieces 110a and 110b are fixed to a feed roller shaft by parallel pins (fixing members) 102, and the downstream side timing pulley 120 is a feed roller by the parallel pin 102 between the divided pieces. It is fixed to the shaft.
The feed roller 110 can be rotationally driven by transmitting the driving force of the delivery roller 30 through the timing clutch 50, the timing pulleys 60 and 120, and the timing belt 125. The brake roller 130 does not rotate in the bill conveyance direction, but rotates at a predetermined pitch in the direction opposite to the bill conveyance direction (bill return direction) each time a bill passes in order to avoid local wear due to contact with the bill. It is configured to move.

In this example, the non-rotating brake roller is illustrated as the friction separating member, but this is an example, and the friction roller (retarded) rotates with a small torque in the reverse direction (bill return direction) to the feed roller instead of the brake roller. A roller) may be used. In addition, in the separation nip portion N1, the feed roller and the friction separation means are not necessarily in contact with each other, and includes a configuration in which the feed roller and the friction separation means are in proximity without contact.
Although the feed roller shaft 101 is configured to be rotatable in this example, the feed roller integrated in advance and the downstream timing pulley 120 may be configured to be rotatable around the axis of the non-rotatable feed roller shaft. Good.

The relay transmission unit 200 includes a downstream timing pulley (downstream transmission member) 120 that rotates integrally with the feed roller 110 about the feed roller axis, and a timing belt (relay that is endlessly wound between the timing pulleys 120 and 60). And (transmission member) 125.
The double-fed banknote return mechanism 260 is supported by the shaft portion 101 of the feed roller so as to be relatively rotatable with respect to the shaft portion, thereby reciprocating with respect to the shaft portion. A torque limiter 265 disposed between the return lever and for integrally rotating the two members 101 and 261 in the forward rotation direction as long as the torque difference between the shaft and the return lever does not exceed a predetermined value; And a return spring (elastic biasing means) 270 for biasing the return lever with a spring force weaker than that of the torque limiter in a return direction opposite to the integral rotation direction of the lever and the return lever.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 11, a circular insertion hole 261a provided at the base end of the return lever 261 is relatively rotatably inserted into a portion (D cut portion) near the end of the feed roller shaft portion 101. The inner surface 261b of the proximal end of the return lever slides with the sliding member 263 in a state in which the axial position is regulated by the disk-shaped sliding member 263 inserted and fixed to the D cut portion of the shaft portion 101. Are in contact with each other. On the other hand, a pressure contact spring 267 is disposed between the other end face 261c of the proximal end of the return lever and the washer 266 inserted into the end of the shaft portion 101 and fixed by the E ring 266a. The portion is resiliently pressed against the sliding member 263 at a predetermined pressure.

As shown in FIG. 11, the torque limiter 265 is composed of a washer 266 and a pressure contact spring 267, and the pressure contact spring 267 is interposed between the washer 266 and the return lever 261 to provide a sliding member 263 (shaft As long as the torque difference between the part 101) and the return lever exceeds the threshold value while the torque difference between the part and the return lever does not exceed a certain limit value determined by the spring force of the pressure contact spring. Allows the return lever to rotate relative to the sliding member 263 (shaft 101). The spring force by which the pressure contact spring 267 presses the return lever base against the slide member 263 is that the return lever 261 rotates in unison with the shaft portion 101 when the shaft portion 101 is forwardly driven by the feed motor 70. It is set so as to stop the forward rotation and start relative rotation (slip) with the shaft portion 101 during normal rotation after the return lever contacts the stopper 268 provided in the fixed portion while allowing .

On the other hand, when the shaft portion 101 stops forward rotation and is in a light load state due to the stop of the sheet feeding motor, the biasing force in the return direction by the return spring 270 always acting on the return lever 261 The lever reverses.
In other words, while the shaft portion 101 is normally rotated by the driving force from the sheet feeding motor, the return lever is rotated with the shaft portion, and the return force of the return spring 270 loses the effect during this period. On the other hand, when the shaft portion 101 stops driving by stopping the sheet feeding motor, the shaft portion 101 is lightly loaded by the action of the drive transmission delay mechanism D described later, so the return force of the return spring is exerted for the first time. Turns in the return direction.
In other words, the return lever 261 is always pulled by the return spring 270 in the direction to reverse the feed roller 110. However, since the force of the return spring 270 is weaker than the force of the pressure contact spring 267 of the torque limiter 265, as the feed roller rotates normally, the return lever rotates in the forward direction against the return spring and the return lever 261 stops. After reaching the movable limit by coming into contact, the torque limiter 265 slips and only the feed roller rotates forward.
The brake roller 130 can be rotated with a light load in the return direction by the one-way clutch 130a. Therefore, when the drive to the feed roller shaft portion 101 is disconnected by the relative rotation section by the action of the drive transmission delay mechanism D and the load becomes light, the feed roller and the brake roller are rotated in the return direction by the small force of the return spring 270. It can be done. That is, the return lever is means for converting the biasing force in the linear return direction by the return spring 270 into rotational force in the direction in which the shaft portion 101 is reversely rotated.

The drawer transport portion 250 is disposed at a downstream side position at which the distance L (FIG. 1) to the separation nip portion N1 is shorter than the bill transfer length, and forms a drawer nip portion N2 (drawer transport member) 251a. 251b, a second point sensor 253 for detecting the first banknote P1 separated and sent out in the separation unit 100, and a drawer conveyance motor 255 for driving the drawing roller 251a on the drive side, and the separation unit The banknotes separated into one sheet at 100 and sent out downstream are pulled out and conveyed.
The distance between the separation nip portion N1 and the nip portion N2 of the drawing roller pair is set to be shorter than the length in the conveyance direction of each bill to be conveyed. Therefore, with the feed motor 70 stopping the driving of the feeding unit 20 and the separating unit 100, the drawing-out roller pair nips the first bill P1 sent out from the separating unit 100, draws it out, and separates it. During a period in which the bill rear is held by the separation nip N1 of the roller pair, the feed roller 30, the downstream timing pulley 120, the timing belt 125, and the upstream timing pulley 60 are connected to the drawing roller pair 251a via the bill P1. Receiving the conveying force from 251b, it rotates in the conveying direction. At the same time as the rear end of the bill P1 passes through the separation nip portion N1 of the separation roller pair, the transmission of the driving force by the corotation from the bill to the feed roller or the like ends.

The drive transmission delay mechanism D allows the circumferential positional relationship between the delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50 to be relatively rotatable in both directions between the initial positional relationship and the final positional relationship, and the positional relationship of the delivery roller with respect to the timing clutch. The driving force is not transmitted to the timing clutch from the initial position relationship to the final position relationship, and the driving force is transmitted after the end position relationship is reached.
Furthermore, the drive transmission delay mechanism D allows the circumferential positional relationship between the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60 to be relatively rotatable in both directions between the initial positional relationship and the final positional relationship, and the upstream timing pulley Drive is not transmitted to the upstream timing pulley until the positional relationship between the timing clutch and the initial position relationship reaches the final positional relationship, and the driving force is transmitted after the final positional relationship is reached. Prepare.

The drive transmission delay mechanism D includes a first relative rotation section 40 provided between the delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50, and a second relative rotation section 45 provided between the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60. The time difference is provided between the delivery timing by the delivery roller and the drive start timing of the feed roller by the sum of the relative rotational circumferential lengths (lengths in the idle circumferential direction) obtained respectively.
That is, due to the existence of the first relative rotation section 40 and the second relative rotation section 45, the driving force of the delivery roller 30 is not directly connected to the timing clutch 50 and the timing pulley 60 and transmitted without delay. Intermittently and delayed transmission is performed via idle rotation intervals (intervals in which the driving force is not transmitted) set by the rotation intervals 40 and 45. For this reason, the feed roller starts rotating with a predetermined time delay after the delivery roller rotates forward. Even if the double feed occurs during the delivery by the delivery roller 30 and the leading end of the second bill P2 comes in contact with the brake roller 130 prior to the first one, this intermittent drive force transmission Since the start timing of rotation of the feed roller is delayed by the total of the circumferential lengths of the relative rotation sections due to the delay, the first bill P1 is delayed by the second bill P2 before the start of rotation of the feed roller, and the leading edge of the brake roller Are in contact with each other (the state of FIG. 6).

The control unit 300 feeds the sheet at a suitable timing (detected by the next point sensor 253) when the first bill P1 being fed out by the delivery roller 30 is reached by the feed roller 110 rotating in the forward direction. The driving force of the feed roller by the motor 70 is stopped to stop the rotation of the feed roller, and the bill conveyance of the bill by the draw-out roller pair (draw-out conveying member) 251a, 251b is carried out. Forward rotation of the feed roller 30, the relay transmission member 125, and the upstream timing pulley 60 are resumed. In fact, there is no time difference between the normal rotation stop and the normal rotation resumption of the feed roller, and the feed roller rotates continuously without interruption.
The upstream timing pulley 60 continues to rotate (idle) within the range of the second relative rotation section 45 with respect to the timing clutch 50 in which the upstream timing pulley 60 that has started forward rotation by the transport force of the banknote is in a stopped state. And the timing clutch 50 return to the initial positional relationship. Subsequently, the timing clutch resumes normal rotation by transmitting the driving force from the upstream timing pulley to the timing clutch, and rotates within the range of the first relative rotation section 40 with respect to the delivery roller 30 in the stopped state. By continuing (idling), the timing clutch 50 and the delivery roller 30 return to the initial positional relationship.
In this example, the timing pulleys 60 and 120 and the timing belt 125 are used as drive transmission means between the delivery unit 20 and the separation unit 100, but this is merely an example, and a gear mechanism consisting of a combination of a plurality of gears. Various drive transmission mechanisms can be used, such as mechanisms consisting of pulleys and wires.

The control unit 300 is operated by a function to stop the sheet feeding motor when the operator operates the stop switch, jam occurrence during sheet feeding, foreign object detection by the sensor, or other errors, or switch operation etc. Have the ability to resume
Furthermore, the control unit 300 continuously interrupts the subsequent bills after the first sheet by continuously rotating the feed roller 30 and the feed roller 110 continuously even after the first sheet of bills has passed through the separating unit. Of course, it can be fed. That is, by stopping the drive of the feeding roller and stopping the rotation of the feed roller when the first bill P1 reaches the take-out nip N2, the feed roller and the feed roller are continuously rotated forward. The second and subsequent bills can be fed one by one continuously. Then, the rotation of the feed roller and the feed roller is stopped when an arbitrary bill tip reaches the take-out nip N2, and then the feed roller 30, the relay transmission member 125, and the upstream timing pulley 60 are utilized using the conveyance force of the bill. The first and second relative rotation sections 40 and 45 can also be returned to the initial positional relationship by resuming the forward rotation of the first and second rotations.
Therefore, when the feeding of all bills constituting the bill bundle from the bill stacking unit is completed, that is, when the last bill reaches the take-out nip N2, the rotation of the delivery roller and the feed roller is stopped, It is also possible to resume the forward rotation of the feed roller 30, the relay transmission member 125, and the upstream timing pulley 60 using the conveyance force of the last bill drawn out by the roller pair. As a result, when the next bundle of bills is set, the first and second relative rotation sections 40 and 45 are returned to the initial positional relationship, so that sheet feeding can be smoothly started without delay.

In the bill separation and transfer apparatus 1 having the above configuration, the second bill P2 precedes the first bill P1 at the time of delivery by the delivery roller 30 and is fed to the separation nip portion and in contact with the brake roller 130. The following double feed prevention mechanism is provided in order to prevent double feed caused due to being cut off.
In addition, this double feed prevention function is related not only to the relationship between the first and second banknotes but also to the relationship between the second and third banknotes, and the relationship between the third and fourth banknotes. Of course, this also applies to all bills in the front-rear positional relationship, etc.
Of course, the above also applies to the second embodiment described later.

First, the delivery roller 30 can rotate relative to the timing clutch 50 within the circumferential length of the first relative rotation section 40 provided between it and the timing clutch 50, that is, within the range of "circumferential play". 50 is capable of relative rotation with the upstream timing pulley 60 within the circumferential length of the second relative rotation section 45 provided between it and the upstream timing pulley 60, that is, within the range of “circumferential play”. In other words, when the timing clutch 50 is in the stop state, the delivery roller 30 is rotationally moved from the start (first start 40a) of the first relative rotation section 40 to the end (first end 40b) In the process, the drive force from the delivery roller is not transmitted to the timing clutch 50, but the drive force from the delivery roller is transmitted to the timing clutch 50 after the delivery roller 30 reaches the first end 40b. It is started and both members rotate integrally. In addition, when the upstream timing pulley 60 is in the stopped state, the timing clutch 50 rotates from the beginning (the second beginning 45 a) of the second relative rotation section 45 toward the end (the second termination 45 b) In the process, the driving force from the timing clutch 50 is not transmitted to the timing pulley 60, but after the timing clutch 50 reaches the second end 45b, the driving from the timing clutch is performed to the upstream timing pulley 60. The force is started to transmit and both members rotate integrally.

For convenience of explanation, in FIGS. 5 to 9, the first start and end portions 40 a and 40 b (first relative rotation section 40) are defined as specific fixed circumferential sections (circumferential sections) in the delivery roller 30. The second start and end portions 45a, 45b (second relative rotation sections) are shown as specific fixed circumferential sections (circumferential sections) in the timing pulley 60. However, in fact, after the feeding roller performs the feeding operation and is stopped by the sheet feeding motor 70, the relative rotation section is not constant because the remaining length L of the bill is not constant, so each relative rotation section is recovered. The position of the first start end 40a at the time point varies. For this reason, the circumferential position of the first relative rotation section on the delivery roller and the circumferential position of the second relative rotation section in the timing pulley are not necessarily constant.

Next, the delivery roller 30 rotates in the transport direction to feed the first bill P1 of the bottommost portion of the bill bundle P toward the separation nip N1, with respect to the timing clutch 50 in the stopped state. 1) The rotational movement of the relative rotation zone 40 starts, and transmission of drive to the timing clutch 50 is started after the rotation angle of the delivery roller 30 reaches the first end 40b of the first relative rotation zone 40, and the conveyance direction Start integral rotation.
The timing clutch 50 rotationally moves in the range of the second relative rotation section 45 with respect to the upstream timing pulley 60 in the stopped state, and the rotation angle of the timing clutch is the end of the second relative rotation section (conveyance direction end) After reaching 45b, the drive is transmitted to the upstream timing pulley 60 to start integral rotation in the transport direction, whereby the feed roller 110 is rotationally driven in the transport direction via the timing belt 125.

Specifically, when the delivery roller 30 rotates, the feed roller stops rotating because the driving force is cut off by the presence of the relative rotation sections 40 and 45. For this reason, when double feed occurs in which the second bill P2 is fed out toward the separation nip N1 prior to the first bill P1 due to the rotation of the delivery roller, the second preceding bill is The front end contacts the brake roller 130 and stops in a state where the forward movement is blocked (FIG. 6 (a)). In this state, when the driving force interruption by each relative rotation section is canceled and the feed roller starts to rotate by the driving force from the delivery roller, the first bill passes below the second bill P2 and is separated. It can enter the nip portion N1 and be delivered downstream. As a result, even if double feeding occurs in which the second bill precedes, it is possible to pass the first bill first while preventing the second bill from advancing in the separation nip portion N1.

Next, the control means 300 causes the feed motor 70 to feed the delivery roller shaft 21 at the timing when the second point sensor 253 detects that the leading end of the first bill P1 has entered the nip N2 of the drawing roller pair. The driving force is interrupted and the delivery roller 30, the timing clutch 50, and the upstream timing pulley 60 are stopped, and the pair of withdrawal rollers 251a and 251b is rotated in the transport direction a to nip the bill P1. Draw and transport. Since the rear end portion of the bill P1 is nipped by the separation roller pair during the withdrawal and conveyance, the feed roller 110 rotates along with the bill and rotates in the conveyance direction, and this rotational driving force is in a stop state The downstream timing pulley 120, the timing belt 125, and the upstream timing pulley 60 are sequentially transmitted.
When the upstream timing pulley 60 is rotationally driven in the transport direction a by the co-rotational driving force from the banknote P1, the timing clutch in a stopped state within the range of the second circumferential play that the second relative rotation section 45 has The upstream timing pulley 60 idles relative to 50. When the upstream timing pulley 60 finishes idle rotation within the second circumferential play range of the second relative rotation section 45, the timing clutch 50 starts to rotate in the transport direction a. When idle rotation of the upstream timing pulley 60 within the range of the second circumferential play is finished, the second relative rotation section (the circumferential positional relationship between the upstream timing pulley and the timing clutch) returns to the initial state ing.

Subsequently, the timing clutch 50 rotationally driven in the transport direction a by the upstream timing pulley 60 idles within the range of the circumferential play of the first relative rotation section 40 with respect to the delivery roller 30 in the stopped state. Specifically, the range of the first circumferential play that the timing clutch 50 has in the first relative rotation section 40 until the period in which the bill being drawn out by the drawing roller pair 251a, 251b causes the feed roller to end is completed. The first relative rotation section (the positional relationship between the timing clutch and the delivery roller in the circumferential direction) returns to the initial state when idle rotation is performed inside and the idle rotation is finished.
The amount of co-rotation by the bill after the feed roller is stopped (the amount of rotation of the timing pulley and the timing clutch for return) depends on the length of the remaining length L1 (FIG. 7) of the bill located upstream of the separation nip N1. It is decided.
Therefore, when the bill length conveyed is not constant, the bill length (remaining length L1) pulled out by the draw-off roller pair from the point of time when the feed roller is stopped by the feed roller is not constant. Even if the section returns to the initial state, the circumferential positional relationship between the sheet feeding roller and the timing clutch does not completely coincide completely with the initial state. Therefore, it is important to determine the idle period due to the circumferential play of each relative rotation section with a margin in consideration of uncertain factors such as the difference in the length of the banknote.

Next, a more specific configuration example and operation of the double feed prevention mechanism including the drive transmission delay mechanism D will be described in detail.
As shown in FIGS. 2A, 3 and 4, when the delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50 are in the initial circumferential positional relationship shown in FIG. The first engaging portion 32 provided on one surface 31A (front surface) of the main body 31 of the delivery roller 30 and the opposing surface 51B (back surface) of the main body 51 of the timing clutch 50 are disposed opposite to the delivery roller. A circumferentially extending play space (idle rotation) formed between the first engagement portion 52 and the projection-like first engagement portion 52 engaged or disengaged with the first engagement portion 32 in the process of relative rotation in the reverse direction. Section). More specifically, in the first relative rotation section 40, the rear portion 32b of the first engaging portion 32 shown by a solid line is in contact with the front portion 52a of the first engaged portion 52 in the stopped state in FIG. From the state (first start end 40a), a state in which the front portion 32a of the first engagement portion 32 shown by a broken line in FIG. 5B is in contact with the rear portion 52b of the first engaged portion 52 (first It is a section that maximizes the circumferential length corresponding to the end portion 40b).

The timing clutch 50 has a first engaged portion 52 protruding from the back surface (facing surface to the delivery roller) 51B of the doughnut-shaped main body 51, and a surface 51A (facing surface to the upstream timing pulley) 51A. And a second engaging portion 53 provided in a protruding manner. In the present embodiment, the first engaged portion 52 and the second engaging portion 53 are disposed at the same circumferential position on the main body 51, but this is merely an example, and may be disposed at different circumferential positions. .
When the circumferential positional relationship between the delivery roller and the timing clutch is in the initial state, the first engagement portion 32 does not necessarily coincide with the start end 40a. That is, the first engagement portion 32 and the first engaged portion 52 may be separated in the initial state. If the first engaging portion 32 and the first engaged portion 52 are separated in the initial state, the first relative rotation section becomes shorter than the maximum value, and thus the first engaging portion 32 and the first engaging portion Even if the positional relationship with the engaged portion 52 is not always constant, after the rotation of the feeding roller is started so that the bill separation operation by the rotation of the feed roller which is started after the start of the rotation of the feeding roller does not occur. It is not difficult in design to properly set the rotation start timing of the feed roller.

As shown in FIG. 2 (b), FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, in the second relative rotation section 45, the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60 have the initial circumferential positional relationship shown in FIG. 5 (c). At the same time, the projection-like second engagement portion 53 provided on one surface 50A of the timing clutch 50 and the opposing surface 61B of the main body 61 of the upstream timing pulley 60 are arranged in the forward and reverse directions relative to the timing clutch 50. It is an idle space (idle section) extending in the circumferential direction formed between the second engaging portion 53 and the protruding second engaged portion 62 which engages with or disengages from the second engaging portion 53 in the process of rotation. More specifically, in the second relative rotation section 45, the rear portion 53b of the second engaging portion 53 is in contact with the front portion 62a of the second engaged portion 62 indicated by a solid line in the stopped state in FIG. From the state (second start end 45a), a state in which the front portion 53a of the second engagement portion 53 indicated by a broken line in FIG. 5B is in contact with the rear portion 62b of the second engaged portion 62 (second It is a section in which the circumferential length corresponding to the end portion 45b) is maximized.

In an initial state (initial position) in which the delivery roller 30, the timing clutch 50, and the upstream timing pulley 60 are stopped, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the first engagement portion 32 is engaged with the first engaged The second engagement portion 53 is located on the front side 52 a side (first start end 40 a) of the portion 52 in the conveyance rotation direction (forward rotation direction), and the conveyance rotation direction of the second engaged portion 62 (forward rotation Direction) is located at the front portion 62a (first start end 45a).
When the delivery roller 30 rotates in the transport direction to feed the first bill P1 of the bottommost portion in the bill stacker 10 toward the separation nip N1, the first position (first start end 40a) The first engaging portion 32 rotates and moves in the direction away from the front portion 52 a of the first engaged portion 52 in the stopped state, and the rear portion 52 b of the first engaged portion 52 rotates. The driving force is transmitted to the first engaged portion 52 (after reaching the first terminal end 40b) to start the timing clutch to rotate in the transport direction.

At the beginning of rotation of the second engaging portion 53 which was in the initial position (the second start end 45a) when the timing clutch 50 is stopped, the second engaging portion 53 is moved away from the front portion 62a of the second engaged portion 62. After the second engagement portion 53 turns and abuts on the rear portion 62b of the second engaged portion 62 (after reaching the second end portion 45b), the driving force to the second engaged portion 62 To transmit the driving force in the transport direction from the delivery roller to the timing pulley, thereby rotationally driving the feed roller in the transport direction via the timing belt.
The first engaged portion 52 of the timing clutch has a positional relationship (engageable and disengageable positional relationship) capable of engaging and disengaging with the first engaging portion 32 of the delivery roller. The circumferential play angle of the first relative rotation section 40 formed between the engaged portion 52 and the first engagement portion 32 is 250 degrees at the maximum in this example. Further, the second engaging portion 53 of the timing clutch is in a positional relationship that can be engaged with or disengaged from the second engaged portion 62 of the upstream timing pulley 60, and in the present example, the second engaging portion 53 and the second engaged portion. The circumferential play angle of the second relative rotation section 45 formed between the joint section 62 and the joint section 62 is 250 degrees at the maximum in this example. Accordingly, the total maximum circumferential play angle of the first and second relative rotation sections 40 and 45 is 500 degrees, which corresponds to about 1.4 laps in terms of the number of rotations of the delivery roller.
When the sheet feeding motor 70 is driven with a design in which the circumferential play length is at most 500 degrees, a circulation delay of about 1.4 turns occurs between the delivery roller 30 and the feed roller 110. Although this circulation delay amount can be set arbitrarily, by setting it to an appropriate value in relation to the bill length, the second bill fed in advance to the separation nip N1 by the delivery of the delivery roller 30 It is possible that the feed roller starts to rotate with a predetermined delay after P2 stops in a state where the tip is in contact with the brake roller 130, and only the first bill P1 is fed into the separation nip N1 to be advanced. Become.

[Description of separation operation of double-fed banknotes]
Next, the operation of each member constituting the bill separating and conveying apparatus in the first embodiment of the present invention will be described in relation to the conveyance timing of the bill.
FIGS. 5 to 9 are diagrams for explaining the procedure for eliminating the double feed generated by the drive of the delivery roller, and FIGS. 5 (a), 6 (a), 7 (a), 8 (a), 9 (a) is a front view of the main part of the bill separating and conveying apparatus, and FIGS. 5 (b), 6 (b), 7 (b), 8 (b), and 9 (b) are first views. Operation explanatory drawing (AA sectional drawing of FIG. 2) in relative rotation area, FIG.5 (c), FIG.6 (c), FIG.7 (c), FIG.8 (c), and FIG.9 (c) are shown. FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view (sectional view along the line BB in FIG. 2) in the second relative rotation section. FIG. 10 is a front view showing a state in which the return lever is operated to return the remaining banknotes, and FIGS. 11 (a) and 11 (b) are perspective views showing the configurations of the return lever and the torque limiter, and an exploded perspective view. FIG. 12 is a flowchart showing the operation procedure of the first embodiment.

In the initial state shown in FIG. 5A, the delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50 have an initial circumferential positional relationship. In this initial state, the sheet feeding motor 70 is stopped, and the circumferential play of the first relative rotation section 40 is circumferentially long between the delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50 as shown in FIG. In the present example, a maximum of 250 degrees is secured. In addition, as shown in FIG. 6C, the circumferential play of the second relative rotation section 45 is equal to the circumferential length (angle) between the timing clutch 50 and the upstream timing pulley 60, and in this example, the maximum is 250 in maximum. It is in a secured state. Therefore, a circumferential length play of at most 500 degrees in total is secured between the delivery roller 30 and the upstream timing pulley.

In the initial state of FIG. 5A, since the shaft portion 101 and the feed roller 110 are stopped in a state where the driving force in the normal direction is not applied, a return spring having a spring force weaker than that of the torque limiter 265 The force of 267 keeps the return lever 261 in the return direction.
In this initial state, as shown in FIG. 5B, the rear portion 32b of the first engaging portion 32 is at the start end 40a of the first relative rotation section 40 in contact with the front portion 52a of the first engaged portion 52. And, as shown in (c), the rear portion 53 b of the second engaging portion 53 is at the start end 45 a of the second relative rotation section 45 in contact with the front portion 62 a of the second engaged portion 62.
Also in the state of FIG. 6A, as in FIG. 5A, no driving force is applied to the shaft portion 101 and the feed roller 110 in the forward rotation direction, so the return lever 261 is returned by the return spring 267 It is maintained in the pivoted state.

A sheet feeding operation is started by turning on a sheet feeding switch (not shown) or by an operation start signal from a host machine (not shown) (FIG. 12, step S1).
In the initial state, when the sheet feed switch is turned on and it is detected by the start sensor 75 that the bill bundle P has been set in the bill stacker 10, the control means 300 conveys the sheet feed motor 70 and the withdrawal conveyance motor 255 in the conveying direction. Driving is started in the (forward rotation direction) (FIG. 6, FIG. 12, steps S2, S3 and S4).
At this time, only the delivery roller 30 and the pair of take-out rollers 251a and 251b start to rotate, and the delivery roller 30 and the timing clutch 50 sequentially idle due to the presence of the first and second relative rotation sections 40 and 45. During the period, the upstream timing pulley 60 and the feed roller 110 stop rotating.
Step S4 is an example, and when there is a bill bundle set detection by the start sensor 75, only the feed motor 70 starts to be driven, and the leading end of the first bill reaches the draw-out nip N2 of the draw-out roller pair It may be made to start driving of the drawer conveyance motor 255 after detecting that.

When the feeding roller 30 starts normal rotation, the lowermost first bill P1 of the bill bundle P is fed out, but as shown in FIG. 5A, the tips of the bills constituting the bill bundle P are uneven. The second and subsequent bills P2 and later may protrude forward in the transport direction from the first bill P1. In this state, when the delivery roller rotates forward and the second and subsequent bills overlap the first bill and are sent out, the second and subsequent bills precede the first bill and the separation nip N1. It is easy to reach The second banknote P2 whose leading end precedes the first banknote P1 at the time of double feeding is stopped in front of the separation nip portion N1, specifically, in contact with the circumferential surface of the brake roller 130 to further advance It will be in a state (FIG. 6 (a)). Further, as shown in FIG. 6A, the first bill P1 comes in contact with the circumferential surface of the brake roller 130 and is in a state of being restrained from advancing further as shown in FIG. 6A following the second bill.
Even at this stage, only the delivery roller 30 idles until the play of the first relative rotation section 40 disappears, so the delivery roller continues to press the tip end of the bill P1 against the stopping brake roller 130. No pressing force is applied to the upper surface of the bill bundle P on 10 or only a slight pressing force is applied, so the contact surface between the delivery roller and the first bill P1 is from the top There is no generation of a strong frictional conveying force due to the pressing force, and the bill is not pushed against the brake roller until the bill is deformed. In other words, even if the tip of the bill P1 is pressed against the brake roller by the transport force of the delivery roller, the bill P1 can freely move and deform in the return direction and in the vertical direction, and damage may accumulate on the tip and deform. Absent. In addition, even if a strong pressing force is not applied to the upper surface of the bill bundle P on the bill stacking unit 10, the waist of the bill itself and the weight of the piled bill bundle is between the bill P1 and the delivery roller Can secure the frictional force for minimum necessary delivery.

The first engagement portion 32 of the delivery roller 30 ends the rotational movement from the start end 40a of the first relative rotation section 40 to the end portion 40b (the rear portion 52b of the first engaged portion 52) and there is no circumferential play. The first engaging portion 32 contacts the first engaged portion 52 of the timing clutch 50 and starts the timing clutch to rotate normally (FIG. 12, step S5). FIG. 6 (b) shows a state after the first engagement portion 32 at the start end portion 40a has circumferentially moved in the normal direction and has passed the end portion 40b, and at this stage, the first engagement has already been made. Since the portion 32 starts pressing the first engaged portion 52, the delivery roller and the timing clutch start integral rotation in the forward rotation direction. Since the timing clutch idles with the delivery roller 30 until there is no play in the second relative rotation section 45, the feed roller 110 is still at rest.

As shown in FIGS. 6 (c) and 7 (c), the second engaging portion 53 which has started to rotate from the second start end 45a of the second relative rotation section corresponding to the first end 40b is the second relative When passing through the second end 45b of the circumferential play range of the rotation section, the rear end 62b of the second engaged portion 62 of the upstream timing pulley contacts and starts pressing in the forward direction. The timing pulley starts to rotate normally (FIG. 12, step S6). That is, the second engaging portion 53 of the timing clutch 50 which has started normal rotation from the start end 45a of the second relative rotation section ends rotational movement to the end 45b of the second relative rotation section and there is no circumferential play. Since the second engagement portion 53 contacts the second engaged portion 62 of the upstream timing pulley 60 and starts driving the upstream timing pulley, feed from the timing belt 125 and the downstream timing pulley 120 is only performed at this stage. The driving force is transmitted to the roller 110, and the feed roller starts forward rotation (FIG. 7A, FIG. 12, step S7).
In other words, after the delivery roller 30 starts to rotate, the feed roller starts to rotate for the first time at timing when the circumferential play in the first relative rotation section and the circumferential play in the second relative rotation section are sequentially eliminated.
At this time, as shown in FIG. 6 (a), only the lower surface of the first bill P1 whose tip is brought into contact with the brake roller is in contact with the feed roller, so that when the feed roller rotates in the stage of FIG. Only the first banknote passes through the separation nip N1 and the second and subsequent banknotes are stopped by the brake roller, so that the first banknote is separated from the second and subsequent banknotes, so that the normal transport is performed. realizable.

Next, as shown in FIG. 7A, the leading end of the first bill P1 separated and passed through the separation nip N1 passes through the nip N2 of the drawing roller pair, and then the next as shown in FIG. 8A. When detected by the point sensor 253, the control means 300 stops the sheet feeding motor 70 (FIG. 12, steps S8 and S9). Therefore, the delivery roller 30 and the feed roller 110 are stopped, and the pair of drawing rollers 251a and 251b driven by the drawing and conveying motor 255 pulls the bill P1 out of the separation nip portion N1.
At this stage, as shown in FIG. 8A, since the middle portion of the bill P1 is nipped by the separation nip N1 and only the extra length L remains unpassed through the separation nip N1, As P1 is withdrawn, the feed roller rotates in the forward direction (FIG. 12, step S10). While the upstream timing pulley, the timing clutch, and the delivery roller are stopped due to the stop of the feed motor 70, the feed roller is further rotated with the bill P1 as shown in FIG. By continuing, the upstream timing pulley and the timing clutch sequentially resume normal rotation, and the second and the ones which were once lost by the sheet feeding and separation operation by the driving of the sheet feeding motor shown in FIG. 5, FIG. 6 and FIG. Each play of the first relative rotation section 45, 40 is sequentially recovered (FIG. 12, steps S11, S12).

That is, in the state of FIG. 8A, the first engagement portion 32 and the first engaged portion 52 stop rotating as shown in FIG. 8B, and the second engagement portion 53 is not shown in FIG. The rotation is stopped as shown in c). In this state, when the feed roller continues to rotate by driving from the remaining length L of the bill P1, the second engaged portion 62 rotates in the normal direction away from the front portion 53a of the second engaging portion 53 in the stopped state. Continue the play recovery action to begin. During the recovery operation of the play, the load is almost light because the timing clutch does not transmit the drive. Therefore, the bill can be easily pulled out only by the pair of drawing rollers, and the bill is not broken or damaged.
7A, when the feed roller shaft portion 101 and the feed roller 110 start forward rotation, the return lever 261 biased in the return direction by the return spring 270 is fed by the action of the torque limiter 265. Starting with the roller shaft 101 is started, and thereafter, when the return lever is in contact with the stopper 268, the base of the return lever slips with the sliding member 263 (feed roller shaft 101), and the stop is continued at that position.

Because the timing clutch starts to rotate when the second engaged portion 62 rotating in the counterclockwise direction reaches the rear portion 53b of the second engaging portion of the timing clutch in the stopped state and starts to drive this, As shown in FIG. 8B, the first engaged portion 52, which is at a position in contact with the front portion 32a of the first engaging portion 32, starts moving in a direction away from the front portion 32a. As shown in FIG. 9A, the timing clutch stops rotating when the rear end of the bill P1 passes the separation nip N2 while the first engaged portion 52 rotates in the counterclockwise direction. Do. FIGS. 9B and 9C show the positional relationship between the engaging portions and the engaged portions when the circumferential play of the relative rotation sections 40 and 45 is recovered by stopping the timing clutch.

As shown in FIG. 9 (a), when the bill trailing end passes the separation nip N1 by the draw-out of the bill by the draw-out roller pair, the draw is finished, and the first sheet is fed by the bill separating / conveying device, separated, downstream The transfer work of is completed. At this stage, the driving force in the forward rotation direction with respect to the feed roller 30 is lost, and the circumferential play of each relative rotation section 40, 45 is recovered, so that the feed roller 30 and the shaft portion 101 can be freely reversed. It is in a state. Therefore, the force by which the return spring 270 pulls the return lever in the return direction overcomes the pressure contact spring 265 pressing the return lever into pressure contact with the slide member 263 and the return lever rotates in the return direction with the shaft portion 101 (feed roller). Do. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 9, the remaining banknote P2 that has entered the separation nip N1 is pulled out of the separation nip N1 and returned to the upstream side as shown in FIG. Evacuate to the point where it does not become. Even if it does not enter the separation nip portion NI, the remaining banknotes whose tips are brought into contact with or close to the brake roller 130 are returned downstream by the feed roller which similarly reverses.
The positional relationship between the first engagement portion 32 and the first engaged portion 52 when the play is recovered is merely an example, and both portions are determined depending on the length of the remaining length L1 of the banknote shown in FIG. 7A. However, the first and second relative rotation sections required when the feed motor rotates the delivery roller forward for feeding the next bill can be sufficiently secured. . That is, in the example of FIG. 9B, the first engaging portion 32 and the first engaged portion 52 are in a slightly separated positional relationship, unlike the initial state of FIG. 5B. Therefore, the initial position of the first engagement portion 32 when the feeding roller 30 starts to rotate when feeding the next bill is the position shown in the figure until it contacts the rear portion 52 b of the first engaged portion 52 The wrap angle is less than 250 degrees.

At the time of FIG. 9B, in the circumferential direction formed by the relative rotation sections 45 and 40 by the length L1 from the separation nip N1 to the bill rear end when the paper feed motor 70 is stopped in FIG. The "play" has been recovered, and the "play" can be used to create a delay in the drive timing of the feed roller at the delivery roller drive timing, and the delivery operation can be continued for the subsequent bills and the separation operation can be repeated. It becomes possible.
In the present embodiment, the amount of rotation from when the feeding roller 30 starts rotating until it stops, in other words, when it stops, is the timing at which the tip of the bill reaches the next point sensor 253. If a configuration in which the sensor is omitted is adopted, the time required for the fed banknotes to be separated at the separation unit and then reach the drawing roller pair is calculated in advance, and the feeding sensor is used for the time corresponding to this time. It can be configured to rotate and then stop.

That is, in order to recover the "play" due to the relative rotation section temporarily lost by the feeding operation by the feeding roller, the length of the bill drawn out by the drawing roller pair 251a, 251b is from the separation nip N1 when the feed roller 110 is stopped. It corresponds to the extra length L of the banknote remaining behind. For example, assuming that the "play" of the relative rotation section is lost when the bill is sent out to the separation nip N1 by 90 mm by rotation of the feeding roller 30 for 1.4 turns, the remaining bill length L of the bill Is 90 mm, the "play" can be recovered by causing the feed roller to rotate around the paper by 90 mm in the circumferential direction.

Although the extra length L differs depending on the bill length, in the above example, the feed roller 70 has a surplus length L of about 90 mm without stopping the feed motor 70 at the timing when the second point sensor 253 detects the bill tip. The feed motor is controlled to stop when the amount is reached.
In addition, when the "play" of the relative rotation section is recovered, the first engagement portion 32 and the first engaged portion 52 may not always return to the initial state in which they are in contact with each other. That is, the first engagement portion 32 and the first engaged portion 52 may be slightly separated when "play" recovers, and in this case, the remaining length L in the next sheet feeding operation may vary. Although this occurs, there is no problem if the range of "play" is set in advance to such an extent that this variation can be absorbed.

In addition, if the feed roller continues to rotate by corotation with the bill more than necessary, the delivery roller starts to rotate and the next bill is fed out, but the timing when the bill trailing end passes through the separation nip N1 and There is no problem if the feed roller is configured to stop within the range of the total circumferential length of each relative rotation section by properly setting the relationship with each relative rotation section.
Although the position where the second point sensor 253 is disposed is on the downstream side spaced apart from the pair of drawing rollers in the illustrated example, it may be closer to the drawing nip N2 than the position of the drawing; It may be arranged upstream.
In this example, the feed motor is stopped at the timing when the leading end of the first bill reaches the draw-off roller pair, and the feed roller is stopped and the bill is pulled out by the draw-out roller pair to recover "play". The control to operate the double-fed banknote return mechanism 260 is performed, but this is only an example, and the double-fed banknote return mechanism 260 is used one by one every time the second and subsequent subsequent banknotes reach the drawing roller pair. It may be operated. Alternatively, in the process of continuously feeding a plurality of bills by continuous rotation of the feed roller, the double feed bill return mechanism 260 is operated when the leading end of any bill (for example, the sixth bill) reaches the draw-out roller pair. The feed roller may be brought into rotation with the bill so as to return the relative rotation section to the initial state. Furthermore, the double-fed banknote return mechanism 260 may be operated according to the above-described procedure when all the banknotes constituting the banknote bundle have been fed and the last banknote tip has reached the draw-out roller pair.
The above also applies to the second embodiment.

[Description of operation of double-fed banknote return mechanism 260]
The return lever 261 is biased in the return direction by the return spring 270 when the feed roller 110 shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 is in the stop state.
Then, the return lever rotates integrally with the shaft portion 101 by the action of the torque limiter 265 at the start of forward rotation of the feed roller 110 shown in FIG. 7 and rotates in the forward rotation direction against the return spring 270 by a predetermined angle. After reaching the contact position with 268, the state of slipping and stopping with the feed roller shaft portion 101 is maintained by the action of the torque limiter. Also in the state of FIG. 8, the return lever is kept in contact with the stopper 268 during forward rotation of the feed roller.
Next, as shown in FIG. 10, when the rear end of the first bill P1 passes through the separation nip portion N1, the feed roller can be reversed at a light load by the action of the drive transmission delay mechanism D. As the return lever is pivoted in the return direction by the force of the return spring and the feed roller is pivoted in the return direction via the feed roller shaft portion 101, the leading edge remains in the separating portion and the second and subsequent sheets. Can be moved in the return direction. Even after the bill is moved in the return direction by the return spring, the return lever maintains the state of being pulled out toward the bill insertion slot side.

In the present invention, as shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, when the feed roller rotates forward, residual bills are more likely to be generated in the state of jumping out to the separation portion when the feed roller is rotated forward. As a result, the feed roller can be reversed at light load, and the return operation by the return lever (operation to reverse the feed roller) makes it possible to efficiently return the remaining banknotes to the retracted position.
That is, when the first bill P1 pulled out by the draw-out roller pair 251a, 251b after the feed roller stops passes the separation nip portion N1 (FIG. 9), the feed roller is released from the external force. That is, the drive from the paper feed motor 70 is also stopped, and the load is not applied by the drive transmission delay mechanism D even if the feed roller reverses, and the brake roller 130 is returned by the one-way clutch 130a disposed on the shaft thereof. Since the feed roller shaft is in a non-load or light load reverse state, the return lever is pivoted in the return direction by the force of the return spring 270 (FIG. 10). The feed roller and the brake roller also rotate in the return direction by the angle at which the return lever returns, and the remaining banknotes can be returned to the insertion port side. Since the spring force of the pressure contact spring of the torque limiter can also be small, cost reduction can be realized.

Such a function and effect are due to the existence of the idle rotation section by the relative rotation sections 40 and 45, and there is a factor in that the load on the feed roller can be reduced after the first sheet of paper leaves the feed roller. It becomes possible to turn the return lever in the return direction with a small force.
If the relative rotation section does not exist, it is necessary to apply a predetermined load or more to turn the return lever in the return direction, so it is necessary to make the force of the return spring strong enough to withstand the load. In that case, it is also necessary to make the pressure contact spring 267 constituting the torque limiter strong, and as a result, it is also necessary to make the forward driving force of the feed roller strong. That is, when the relative rotation section does not exist, the return lever and the feed roller can not be rotated in the return direction.
When the return lever rotates in the return direction from the state of FIG. 9A and shifts to the state of FIG. 10A, the feed roller rotates in the return direction by the angle at which the return lever returns. At this time, the second engaged portion 62 of the upstream timing pulley 60 slightly moves in the clockwise direction from the position shown in FIG. 9C, and the second engaged portion 53 in the fixed state shown in FIG. The position is slightly separated). However, as apparent from these figures, the angle at which the upstream timing pulley 60 reverses, that is, the distance in which the second engaged portion 62 moves in the clockwise direction, is a state where "play" is recovered. It has no substantial impact on
That is, since the reverse rotation amount from when the feed roller reverses by a predetermined amount until it stops by a series of operations of the above-described return lever is small, the first engaged portion 52, the second engaging portion 53, and the second The positional relationship of the engaged portions 62 can be said to be substantially within the same relative positional relationship as compared to the time of recovery of the "play" shown in FIG. 9 (b) (c). Therefore, at the time of the next sheet feeding, it is possible to start from almost the same state as the initial state shown in FIGS.
The above also applies to the second embodiment.

[Summary of action of first embodiment, effect]
In the bill separating and conveying apparatus 1 of the present invention, after the feeding operation by the feeding roller 30 is started, relative rotation is made in the drive transmission path between the feeding roller and the feed roller in order to start rotation of the feed roller 110 with a predetermined time difference. A timing clutch 50 for forming the sections 40 and 45 and an upstream timing pulley 60 are interposed. That is, a first relative rotation section 40 is provided between the delivery roller and the timing clutch, and a second relative rotation section 45 is provided between the timing clutch and the upstream timing pulley. As a result, even if the feed roller is rotated by rotating the sheet feeding motor, driving is not transmitted to the feed roller and stopped, until the "play" in the circumferential direction corresponding to the total of the respective relative rotation sections disappears. When the feed roller rotates while the feed roller is stopped, the first banknote P1 is fed and pressed against the brake roller 130 to align the leading edge.
When the feed roller, timing clutch, and timing pulley continue normal rotation with the tip of the bill contacting the brake roller and the "play" formed by each relative rotation section disappears, the feed roller rotates with the delivery roller etc. Banknote separation is started.

When the leading end of the separated bill P1 reaches the second point sensor 253 and is detected, the control means 300 stops the sheet feeding motor 70.
The bill P1 is pulled out by the draw-out nip N2 of the draw-out roller pair 251a, 251b driven by the draw-out conveyance motor 255 different from the sheet feed motor 70, and the conveyance is continued. The feed roller rotates along with the bill during a period until the drawing roller completes the position of the bill nipped in the separation nip portion N1 and the extra length L1 to the back end of the bill is lost. The "play" of the relative rotation sections 40, 45 is recovered.
When the first sheet P1 is fed out, separated and pulled out, the "play" recovers and the positional relationship between the feed roller, timing clutch, and timing pulley returns to the initial state, so that the second and subsequent bills are fed out. The same operation can be repeated with a simple control even when starting.

According to the banknote separating / conveying device 1 of the present invention, when the tips of the banknotes constituting the banknote bundle P are in an uneven state at the stage before the start of feeding, the feeding of the first banknote is started. Even if the first bill reaches the separation nip N1 prior to the first one, the leading edge of both bills is brought into contact with the feed roller or the brake roller to align the bills before the second bill is separated. A highly reliable and stable bill separation can be performed by preventing double feeding of a bill in advance of the first sheet and passing through the separation nip portion.
Further, this series of delivery and separation operations are realized only by the purely mechanical configuration of the drive transmission delay mechanism D, and there is no need for complicated control such as switching the forward and reverse drive of the motor at fine timing. This enables high-speed processing and high durability. Moreover, the drive transmission delay mechanism D has a simple and simple structure and can be manufactured inexpensively.

The return lever 261 rotates in the forward rotation direction following the feed roller shaft portion 101 by the action of the torque limiter 265 during a period in which the feed roller 110 is forwardly driven by the paper feed motor, but was in contact with the stopper 268 At the same time, while stopping the normal rotation, start the slip with the feed roller shaft. Thereafter, the feed roller which is the drive source of the return lever continues to rotate, but the drive of the return lever is cut off by the torque limiter and continues to stop at the stopper contact position.
After the first bill P1 passes through the separation nip portion N1, the feed roller is released from the external force. That is, the drive from the sheet feeding motor 70 is also stopped, and the load at the time of reverse rotation is reduced by the presence of the relative rotation section, and the brake roller 130 can be rotated in the return direction b by the one-way clutch 130a. The force of the return spring 270 causes the return lever to pivot in the return direction. The feed roller and the brake roller can be reversed to return the remaining bills by the angle at which the return lever returns. That is, as shown in FIG. 10C, relative rotation in the return direction b of the second engaged portion 62 constituting the relative rotation section 45 is free with respect to the second engaging portion 53 in the stopped state. The first engaged portion 52 forming the relative rotation section 40 is free to rotate in the return direction b relative to the first engaging portion 32 in the stopped state as shown in FIG. Therefore, the load when the feed roller is reversely rotated by the return spring 270 via the return lever is extremely small.

Second Embodiment
FIGS. 13 (a) and 13 (b) are plan views showing the main configuration (delivery unit 20) of the banknote separating and conveying apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment, and the engaging unit and the engaged unit in the relative rotation section. It is explanatory drawing (CC sectional drawing) which shows operation | movement of. 14 (a), (b) and (c) are front side perspective views of the delivery roller and the upstream timing pulley assembled to the delivery roller shaft, and a front view showing the delivery roller shaft removed from the configuration of (a). It is a front side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division piece of the delivery roller of the front side from the side perspective view and the structure of (b). 15 (a), (b) and (c) are rear side perspective views of the delivery roller and the upstream timing pulley assembled to the delivery roller shaft, and the rear surface showing the delivery roller shaft removed from the configuration of (a). It is a rear side perspective view which shows the state which removed the division piece of the delivery roller by the side of a front from the side perspective view and the structure of (b).
The same parts as those of the delivery unit 20 of the first embodiment will be described with the same reference numerals. Further, the configurations of the separation unit 100 and the drawer conveyance unit 250 are substantially the same as those in the first embodiment, and are not shown. Therefore, the configuration and operation of the separation unit 100 and the pull-out conveyance unit 250 will be described with reference to the corresponding parts in FIGS. 1, 2 and 5 to 10.

The banknote separating and conveying apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in that the timing clutch 50 is omitted and the delivery roller 30 and the upstream timing pulley (upstream transmission member) are disposed on the delivery roller shaft 21. 60 is arranged so as to be relatively rotatable relative to each other, and the delivery roller and the upstream timing pulley are arranged adjacent to each other via a relative rotation section 80.
That is, the banknote separating and conveying apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment is configured such that the delivery unit 20 delivers the banknotes one by one from the banknote bundle P by the delivery roller 30, and the second and subsequent sheets together with the first banknote from the delivery unit 20. A separation nip portion N1 which passes only the first bill P1 in contact with the feeding roller and sends it downstream while blocking the feeding of the second and subsequent bills when double feeding is performed in which bills are stacked and fed out. The driving force is transmitted between the delivery unit 20 and the separation unit 100. And a control unit 300 that controls various control targets.

As shown in FIGS. 13 and 14, the delivery unit 20 is provided with a delivery roller shaft 21 orthogonal to the bill conveyance direction, a delivery roller 30 which rotates around the delivery roller shaft and is sequentially arranged along the axial direction. An upstream timing pulley (upstream transmission member) 60, a feed motor (feed motor) 70 for forward driving the feed roller in the conveyance direction (counterclockwise direction) a, a delivery roller 30, and an upstream timing pulley 60 And a drive transmission delay mechanism D for delaying (disconnecting) transmission of each driving force in both forward and reverse directions.
As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the separation unit 100 contacts the surface of the first bill P1 fed out by the delivery roller 30 when it is rotated in the normal direction, and transports the sheet P1. And a friction separating member (brake roller) 130 for preventing the advancing of the second and subsequent bills. The one-way clutch 130a (not shown) is disposed on the shaft portion of the separation roller 130, so that it can rotate in the direction (counterclockwise direction) to return the bill.

As shown in FIG. 1 etc., the relay transmission unit 200 is disposed adjacent to and coaxially with the feed roller, and is integrally formed with the downstream side timing pulley (downstream side transmission member) 120 that rotates integrally with the feed roller, the upstream timing pulley and the downstream timing. And a timing belt (relay transmission member) 125 for relaying the transmission of the driving force with the pulley 120.
As shown in FIG. 1 and the like, the drawer conveyance portion 250 is disposed at a downstream side position at which the distance L to the separation nip portion N1 is shorter than the length in the paper conveyance direction, and forms a drawer nip portion N2. B) a second point sensor 253, and a drawing and conveying motor 255 for driving the drawing roller pair.

The drive transmission delay mechanism D shown in FIGS. 13 and 14 allows the circumferential positional relationship between the delivery roller 30 and the upstream timing pulley 60 to be relatively rotatable in both directions between the initial positional relationship and the final positional relationship, and While the positional relationship between the delivery roller and the upstream timing pulley reaches the final positional relationship from the initial positional relationship, no driving force is transmitted to the upstream timing pulley 60, and after the final positional relationship is reached. It comprises the composition which transmits driving force.
Here, the initial positional relationship means the state where the engaging portion 33 is at the initial position indicated by reference numeral 33-1 with respect to the engaged portion 62 in FIG. 13B, and the final positional relationship is the same. This means that the engaging portion 33 is at the final position indicated by reference numeral 33-2 with respect to the engaged portion 62 in the drawing.

As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the control means 300 appropriately sets the first bill P1 being fed out by the delivery roller 30 as the feed roller 110 rotates in the forward direction and reaches the takeout nip N2 of the drawout roller pair. By stopping the driving of the feeding roller by the paper feeding motor 70 and performing the withdrawal conveyance of the bill by the drawing roller pair at the (optimum) timing, the conveyance force of the remaining length L of the first bill is utilized. The feed roller 110, the relay transmission member 125, and the upstream timing pulley 60 are rotated forward.
The upstream timing pulley 60 rotating forward rotates relative to the delivery roller 30 in the stopped state within the range of the relative rotation section 80 until the rear end of the bill passes through the separation nip portion N1 after passing through the separation nip portion When the relative rotation of the upstream timing pulley is completed, the delivery roller and the upstream timing pulley return to the initial positional relationship (see FIG. 9A).

Next, the specific configuration and operation of the drive transmission delay mechanism D will be described based on FIGS. 14 and 15. FIG.
The relative rotation section 80 provided in the drive transmission delay mechanism D is engaged with the engaging portion 33 provided on the delivery roller 30 and the upstream timing pulley 60 in the process of relative rotation in the forward and reverse directions with respect to the delivery roller. It is formed between the engagement portion 33 and the engagement portion 62 which engages with or disengages from the engagement portion 33.
In an initial state in which the delivery roller 30 and the upstream timing pulley 60 are stopped, as shown by a broken line in FIG. 13B, the engaging portion 33 is a positive portion of the engaged portion 62 indicated by reference numeral 33-1. It is located in the rolling direction front side (front part 62a side). The direction in which the engaging portion 33 in the initial state separates from the front portion 62a of the engaged portion 62 in the stopped state when the feeding roller rotates forward to feed the first sheet of paper toward the separation nip portion ( 13 (b), and the engaging portion 33 rotates, and the rear portion of the engaged portion 62 as illustrated by a broken line (reference numeral 33-2) in FIG. 13 (b). After coming into contact with 62b, the drive force is transmitted to the engaged portion 62 to start the upstream timing pulley to rotate forward, and the feed roller 110 is driven to rotate forward via the relay transmission member 125.

After the control means 300 determines that the first bill P1 being fed out by the delivery roller 30 has surely reached the take-out nip N2 of the draw-out roller pair, the control of the delivery roller by the feed motor 70 is performed. The feed roller, the relay transmission member 125, the upstream side by utilizing the conveyance force by the extra length L1 of the bill left on the upstream side of the separation nip portion 100 by stopping and conveying the bill by the pair of drawing rollers. The timing pulley 60 is rotated forward. As a result, when the engaged portion 62 of the upstream timing pulley contacts or comes close to a position where the engaged portion 33 of the delivery roller is in a stopped state, the upstream timing pulley and the initial position of the delivery roller are stopped. The return to the relationship is complete.
Also in the present embodiment, a return lever 261 and a torque limiter 265 are provided on the shaft portion 101 of the feed roller (not shown), and the configuration of a double feed bill return mechanism 260 is adopted. There is. Description of the operation and effect for returning the remaining bills by the double-fed bill return mechanism 260 is the same as that of the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

Modification of Drive Transmission Mechanism According to Second Embodiment
16 (a), (b) and (c) are a plan view, a front view, and a perspective view showing another configuration example of the relay transmission mechanism in the delivery unit 20 of the banknote separating and conveying apparatus according to the modification of the second embodiment. It is.
In the first and second embodiments, as the relay transmission mechanism for transmitting the driving force between the delivery unit 20 and the separation unit 100, the configuration including the timing pulley and the timing belt is adopted, but this is merely an example.
FIG. 16 shows an example in which the relay transmission mechanism is composed of a plurality of gears.
In the delivery unit 20, an output gear 70a integrated with the output shaft of the feed motor 70 meshes with a driven gear 71 fixed coaxially with the shaft 35 of the delivery roller 30. The delivery roller is composed of divided pieces 30a and 30b, and on one divided piece 30a, an engaging portion 33 constituting a drive transmission delay mechanism D projects toward the upstream transmission gear 150 as an upstream transmission member. It is done. An engaged portion 152 which is engaged with or disengaged from the engaging portion 33 in the process of circumferential movement is provided on the opposite surface of the upstream transmission gear 150 so as to project therefrom. A relative rotation section 80 is formed between the engaging portion 33 and the engaged portion 152.

In the separation unit 100, a feed roller 110 is fixed to the feed roller shaft 101, and at the end of the feed roller shaft 101, the shaft core of the downstream transmission gear 155 as a transmission member is fixed.
A plurality of intermediate gears 140 as relay transmission members are disposed between the upstream transmission gear 150 and the downstream transmission gear 155.

In this embodiment, an upstream transmission gear 150, a downstream transmission gear 155, and an intermediate gear 160 are used in place of the upstream timing pulley, the downstream timing pulley, and the timing belt in the second embodiment. The behavior of the engaging portion 33 and the engaged portion 152 constituting the delay mechanism D is not changed, and thus the duplicated description is omitted.
Also in this embodiment, although not shown, the return lever 261 and the torque limiter 265 are provided on the shaft portion 101 of the feed roller 110, and the configuration of the double feed banknote return mechanism 260 which biases the return lever by the return spring 270 in the return direction. Is adopted. Description of the operation and effect for returning the remaining bills by the double-fed bill return mechanism 260 is the same as that of the first embodiment, so the description will be omitted.

<Application Example of the Banknote Separating and Conveying Device of the Present Invention>
FIG. 17 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration of a bill validator as an example of the bill handling apparatus to which the bill separating / conveying device 1 according to the first embodiment and the second embodiment of the present invention can be applied.
The bill validator (paper discriminator) 400 is sequentially disposed along a deposit tray 403 provided in the deposit port 402 provided in the upper front of the housing 401 and a transport path 405 provided in the deposit port 402. The bill separating and conveying apparatus 1, the discrimination unit 410 which determines the authenticity of the bill, and the bill judged to be authentic by the discrimination unit are sorted and conveyed to the genuine bill tray 420 provided at the lower front of the case, false A sorting / conveying unit 415 that sorts and conveys a bill determined to be a bill to the fake bill tray 421, and a control unit 425.

Unlike the bill handling apparatus which provides articles and services such as a bill depositing machine, a bill counting machine, various vending machines, change machines, etc., the bill discrimination unit 400 has the purpose of only identifying the authenticity of the bill. It is a compact and lightweight device, for example, a device installed at a currency exchange window of a bank, a currency exchange center of an airport, etc. to perform identification processing simply and quickly. The banknote discrimination unit 400 sets a predetermined number of banknote bundles, for example, 50 banknotes, to the deposit tray 403, and automatically feeds each of the banknote bundles by the banknote separating / conveying device 1 one by one, and then CIS (Contact Image Sensor). In the discrimination unit 410 provided with the), a genuine bill and a bill suspected of being forged are determined. Next, the sorting transport unit 415 sorts and transports the true bill and the fake bill to the true bill tray 420 and the fake bill tray 421, respectively.
Even if the tips of the bills constituting the bill bundle set in the deposit tray 403 are uneven, the bill separating and conveying apparatus 1 causes the tip of the bill fed out by the feeding unit 20 to once abut against the separation roller pair Since the separation operation is performed after the tips are aligned, it is also possible to prevent double feeding of a type in which the second bill is sent out first.

Also, by the operation of the double-fed banknote return mechanism 260, the first banknote is fed out, and the banknote remaining in the separation unit after separation is fed out to the next banknote, and is retracted to a position where it does not interfere with separation It is possible to
The bill separating and conveying apparatus according to the present invention is applicable not only to a bill identifying machine but also to other bill handling machines that provide articles and services such as a bill depositing machine, a bill counting machine, various automatic vending machines, and money changers. It can apply.

<Summary of Structure, Function, and Effect of the Present Invention>
In the sheet separation and conveyance apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, the sheet feeding unit 20 that feeds sheets one by one from the sheet bundle P by the feeding roller 30 and the sheet fed from the sheet feeding unit 20 are in a double feeding state. A separation unit 100 for passing only the first sheet P1 in contact with the delivery roller and delivering it to the downstream side while blocking the advance of the second and subsequent sheets, and a part remains in the separation section. Drawer-conveying unit (paper-sheet extracting means) 250 for drawing out and conveying the first paper sheet P1, the relay transmission unit 200 for transmitting the driving force between the feeding unit and the separating unit, and the first paper After the leaves pass through the separation unit, the second and subsequent sheets remaining in the separation unit are returned upstream (return to the retracted position where there is no hindrance to the next separation work) double paper return mechanism 260; And control means 300 for controlling various control targets. Furthermore, the delivery unit includes a delivery roller shaft 21 orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction, a delivery roller 30 which rotates around the delivery roller shaft and is sequentially arranged along the axial direction, and an upstream transmission member 60. A feed motor 70 for driving the delivery roller in the forward direction in the transport direction, and at least one relative rotation section 80 (40, 45) between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member to drive in both forward and reverse directions And d) a drive transmission delay mechanism D for delaying (interrupting) transmission of force. The separation unit 100 forms a separation nip portion N1 between a feed roller 110 that contacts and conveys the first sheet of paper fed by the delivery roller when it is rotated in the normal direction, and And a friction separating member (brake roller) 130 for preventing the advance of the sheet after the first sheet. The relay transmission unit 200 is disposed adjacent to and coaxially with the feed roller, and integrally rotates with the downstream transmission member 120, and the relay transmission member 125 that relays the driving force transmission between the upstream transmission member and the downstream transmission member 120. And. The double feed sheet return mechanism 260 is disposed between the return lever 261 rotatably supported by the shaft portion of the feed roller and the shaft portion of the feed roller and the return lever, and the shaft portion and the return lever And a torque limiter 265 for integrally rotating the shaft portion and the return lever in the forward direction as long as the torque difference between them does not exceed a predetermined value, and a resilient biasing means 270 for biasing the return lever in the reverse direction; Equipped with The draw-out conveyance unit 250 is disposed at a downstream side position at which the distance to the separation nip portion is shorter than the length of the sheet in the conveyance direction, and the draw-out conveyance members (drawer roller pair) 201a and 201b forming a draw-out nip portion And a feeding / conveying motor 205 which rotates a feed roller not driven by the sheet feeding motor in the conveying direction by driving one of the conveying members. The drive transmission delay mechanism D allows the circumferential positional relationship between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member to be relatively rotatable in both directions between the initial positional relationship and the final positional relationship, and the delivery roller relative to the upstream transmission member. While the positional relationship from the initial positional relationship to the final positional relationship is reached, the drive force is not transmitted to the upstream transmission member 60, and the drive force is transmitted after the final positional relationship is reached. The control means stops driving of the feeding roller by the paper feeding motor at a suitable timing when the first sheet fed by the feeding roller reaches the pulling nip portion by the feed roller being rotated in the normal direction and the feeding and conveyance By drawing out and conveying the paper sheet by the members, the feed roller, the relay transmission member 125, and the upstream transmission member are forwardly rotated by using the conveyance force of the first paper sheet, and the paper feeding means Is rotated in the transport direction.

With respect to the delivery roller in which the upstream side transmission member for forward rotation is in the stopped state, the trailing end of the sheet relatively rotates within the range of the relative rotation section until it passes the separation nip and stops after passing the separation nip. At the end of relative rotation of the upstream transmission member, the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member return to the initial positional relationship.
After the return lever 261 rotates integrally with the shaft portion of the feed roller by the action of the torque limiter 265 at the start of normal rotation of the feed roller, it reaches the stop position rotated against the return spring by a predetermined angle in the forward direction. Keeps the stop condition while slipping with the shaft. Under the present circumstances, a return lever slips with respect to a feed-roller axial part by the effect | action of a torque limiter, and idles.

When the rear end of the first sheet leaves the separation nip N1, the feed roller can be reversed with light load, and the return lever rotates in the return direction by the force of the return spring and via the feed roller shaft By rotating the feed roller in the return direction, the second and subsequent sheets remaining in the separation unit are moved in the return direction.
Using a single motor without separately driving the delivery roller and the feed roller by a plurality of motors, by purely mechanical construction, do not start the rotation of the feed roller until the delivery roller rotates by a predetermined angle Thus, it is possible to prevent the second and subsequent sheets of paper from passing the separation nip portion prior to the first sheet.

That is, when there are mixed paper sheets having different lengths, the leading end of the sheet bundle being out of alignment, and in the separation operation, the leading end of the double-fed sheet is used as the friction separating member 130 or the feed roller By bringing the sheet into contact with the sheet 110, the first sheet is always made to precede the second sheet and plunged into the separation nip portion N1 to realize stable separation. Therefore, not the feed roller but the feed roller is directly driven by the paper feed motor, and the drive force is indirectly transmitted via the clutch mechanism (drive transmission delay mechanism D) for providing a time difference to the transmission timing of the driving force for the feed roller. It was made to do. For this reason, it has become possible to cause the drive of the delivery roller to precede the feed roller. In addition, it was possible to have a simple mechanical configuration in which the delivery roller and the feed roller are driven by one motor.
At the time when the feed roller starts driving, the "play" of the relative rotation section that constitutes the drive transmission delay mechanism is temporarily lost, but there is an extra length upstream of the separation nip portion between the feed roller and the friction separation member. When idle rotation of the feed roller and the upstream transmission member is completed when the remaining sheet is pulled out by the drawer conveyance member, the "play" of the relative rotation section is restored. For this reason, the next sheet feeding and separation operation can be resumed without controlling the drive motor exceptionally.

Also, conventionally, by pressing the sheet bundle of the loading unit from above to flatten it, the curled up curled-up or curled-up curl is strongly pressed to facilitate feeding. On the other hand, in the present invention, the sheet bundle is not positively pressurized. When the sheet bundle is pressurized too much, the sheet is crumpled when the feeding force from the feeding roller is continuously applied to the sheet with the leading edge in contact with the friction separation member 130 or the feed roller. It becomes impossible to feed paper. By performing the delivery with a light delivery force which is a degree of stroke while pressing the sheet bundle without pressure or with a minimal light load, the delivery can be performed while preventing the sheet from being crushed, and at the separation portion It can prevent the paper from collapsing. That is, even if the sheet bundle at the feeding position is not positively pressurized, the weight of the sheet bundle and the waist of the sheet can prevent the normal feeding and the crushing after the feeding.

The number of rotations of the delivery roller until the leading edge of the sheet fed out by the delivery roller which has started the delivery operation by the feed motor reaches the separation part is the diameter of the delivery roller, the distance from the delivery roller to the separation part, one delivery It is determined in consideration of the variation of the amount, the variation of the sheet length, and the like. The feed roller is rotated at the timing when the leading edge of the paper sheet reaches the separation unit, but the timing when the feed roller starts driving after the start of driving of the delivery roller is the circumferential length of the relative rotation section formed by the drive transmission delay mechanism D It is decided by the paper length etc. In addition, the distance L from the separation nip N1 to the extraction nip N2 is set so that the circumferential play of the relative rotation section, which has been lost once due to the feed roller rotating with the extra length L1 of the paper, can be recovered. . If the length of the sheet pulled out by the pull roller pair is too short after the feed roller has stopped, the circumferential play can not be recovered sufficiently, and if the sheet length is too long, the sheet will continue to be pulled out even after recovery of the circumferential play. As a result, excessive tension is applied to the sheet to cause breakage.

When it is desired to set a long idle period (circumferential play length) due to the relative rotation section provided in the drive transmission delay mechanism D, it is effective to provide a plurality of relative rotation sections between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member. It is. Specifically, a clutch member as a third rotating member is provided between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member, and a relative rotation section is provided between the delivery roller and the clutch member, and between the clutch member and the upstream transmission member. Can be provided.
Further, according to the present invention, the double feeding paper sheet is separated and only the first paper sheet passes downstream without delaying the separation operation, complication of control, and addition of the detection sensor. At the end of the process, the remaining sheets remaining in the separation section can be returned upstream and transported so as not to be an obstacle in the next separation operation.

That is, in the process of passing the separating unit through the sheet fed one by one from the sheet bundle, the remaining banknotes often remain in or in the separating nip after passing through the separating unit. If the next sheet feeding is performed in this state, a situation occurs in which two sheets are fed in a double feed state. Therefore, after the first sheet passes through the separating portion, it is necessary to start the feeding from an ideal state where all the following sheets are separated sufficiently downstream from the separating nip portion and each separating roller.
In the present invention, the return lever can be returned with a small return spring force after the feed roller is stopped because there is an idle section corresponding to the total circumferential length of the relative rotation section formed by the drive transmission delay mechanism D. That is, since the period in which the feed roller and the feed motor are not driven can be formed by the presence of the relative rotation section, a simple return lever structure with a weak return spring force and a torque limiter structure with a weak spring force are used. And the multi-feed sheet return mechanism 260 can be constructed at low cost.

In the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to the second aspect of the present invention, the friction separating member is the brake roller 130 supported by the brake roller shaft, and the brake roller is one-way disposed between the brake roller and the brake roller shaft. It is characterized in that it is configured not to rotate in the forward direction by the clutch 130a, but to rotate in the sheet return direction.
The brake roller 130 can be rotated with a light load in the return direction by the one-way clutch 130a. Therefore, when the feed roller shaft 101 is lightly loaded by the action of the drive transmission delay mechanism D, the small amount of force of the return spring 270 can rotate the feed roller and the brake roller in the return direction to return the remaining bills.

In the paper separating and conveying apparatus according to the third aspect of the present invention, the relative rotation section 80 is provided on the engaging portion 33 provided on the delivery roller and the upstream side transmission member 60 in the forward and reverse directions with respect to the delivery roller. In the initial state in which the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member are stopped, which are formed between the engaging portion and the engaged portion 62 which is engaged and disengaged in the process of relative rotation, the engaging portion is the engaged portion The engaging portion 33 in the initial state is stopped when the delivery roller is rotated forward to feed the first sheet toward the separation nip portion N1. The rotational movement moves in a direction away from the front of the engaging portion 62, and after the engaging portion orbits and abuts on the rear of the engaged portion, the driving force is transmitted to the engaged portion and the upstream transmission member Forward rotation to transmit the driving force in the conveyance direction from the delivery roller to the upstream transmission member. Driven to normally rotate the feed roller via a relay transmission member. Further, the control means 300 stops the drive of the delivery roller by the paper feed motor and the paper by the delivery conveyance member after the first sheet fed by the delivery roller reaches the take-out nip part of the take-out delivery member. By conveying the leaves, the feed roller, the relay transmission member 125, and the upstream transmission member are normally rotated by utilizing the conveyance force of the remaining length of the paper sheet left on the upstream side of the separation nip portion. The return position of the upstream transmission member and the delivery roller to the initial positional relationship when the upstream transmission member and the delivery roller stop when the engaged portion of the upstream transmission member contacts or stops in contact with the engagement portion of the delivery roller in a stopped state. Is completed.
When the drive transmission delay mechanism D is configured of two parts, a delivery roller and an upstream transmission member, the relative position between the engaging portion 33 provided on the delivery roller and the engaged portion 62 provided on the upstream transmission member. A rotation section 80 is formed. In order to satisfy the request for extending the relative rotation section 80, it is effective to dispose a clutch member between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member to increase the number of relative rotation sections.

In the paper separating and conveying apparatus according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the clutch member rotates relative to the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member at a portion of the delivery roller shaft positioned between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member. It is pivotally (coaxially) supported.
In the present invention, the relative rotation section 80 includes a first relative rotation section 40 formed between the delivery roller and the clutch member, and a second relative rotation section 45 formed between the clutch member and the upstream transmission member. And are characterized in that
The length of the relative rotation section 80 can be arbitrarily extended by arranging a clutch member between the delivery roller and the upstream side transmission member and increasing the number of relative rotation sections.

In the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, the first relative rotation section 40 is provided on the first engaging portion 32 provided on the delivery roller 30 and on the clutch member 50 and is positive with respect to the delivery roller. The second relative rotation section 45 is formed between the first engaging portion 52 and the first engaged portion 52 that engages with (disengages with) the first engaging portion 32 in the process of relative rotation in the reverse direction. A second engaged portion 53 provided on the upstream side transmission member 60 and engaged with or disengaged from the second engaging portion in the process of relative rotation in the forward and reverse directions with respect to the clutch member In the initial state where the delivery roller, the clutch member, and the upstream transmission member are stopped, the first engagement portion is positioned forward of the first engaged portion in the forward direction of the first engagement portion, and (2) The engaging portion is located on the front side in the normal direction of the second engaged portion, and the delivery roller rotates in the forward direction to generate the first sheet. When the paper sheet is fed toward the separation nip portion, the first engagement portion in the initial state is rotationally moved in a direction away from the front portion of the first engaged portion in the stop state, and the first engagement portion , And after coming into contact with the rear of the first engaged portion, the driving force is transmitted to the first engaged portion to start normal rotation of the clutch member, and the second engaging portion at the initial position Is rotated in the direction away from the front of the second engaged portion, and the second engaging portion orbits and abuts on the rear of the second engaged portion; The driving force is transmitted to the engaging portion to cause the upstream transmission member to start rotating in the transport direction, and the driving force in the forward rotation direction from the clutch member is transmitted to the upstream transmission member, via the relay transmission member. Drive the feed roller forward. The control means 300 stops the drive of the delivery roller by the feed motor at the timing when the first sheet fed by the delivery roller reaches the take-out nip of the take-out conveying member, and the take-out conveying member By pulling out and conveying the feed roller, the relay transmission member, and the upstream transmission member in the forward direction by utilizing the conveyance force of the remaining length of the paper sheet left on the upstream side of the separation nip portion. After the second engaged portion of the transmission member is rotated until it comes into contact with the second engaging portion of the clutch member in the stopped state, the drive is transmitted to the second engaging portion and the first engaged portion, When the first engaged portion is rotated to a position where the first engaged portion contacts or approaches the first engagement portion of the delivery roller and is stopped, the clutch member and return of the delivery roller to the initial positional relationship are completed. .
In the case where the drive transmission delay mechanism D is constituted by three components of the delivery roller 30, the clutch member 50, and the upstream transmission member 60, the first engagement portion 33 provided on the delivery roller and the first engaged member provided on the clutch member A first relative rotation section 40 is formed between the first engaging portion 51 and the second engaging portion 51, and a second engaging portion 53 provided on the clutch member and a second engaged portion 62 provided on the upstream transmission member are formed secondly. By forming the relative rotation section 45, the total circumferential play length of the relative rotation section 80 can be extended.

In the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the control means 300 continuously drives the delivery roller, the feed roller, and the drawing and conveying member in the forward direction even after the first sheet passes through the separating portion. It is characterized in that continuous feeding of paper sheets is possible by doing.
The separation of sheets by the feed roller can be continuously performed on the second and subsequent sheets by continuously rotating the feed roller continuously, so that all the sheets are fed and separated. It is possible to stop the feeding before completion, or to feed all the sheets continuously and continuously until the separation is completed.
After the feed roller stops rotating forward, the "play" of the relative rotation section is restored by the feed roller rotating with the sheet.
The stop of the feed roller and the withdrawal of the sheet by the withdrawal conveyance member (the return of "play") may be performed each time the sheet is separated and passed, or the separation and the passage of a plurality of sheets may be performed. It may be carried out at a continuous stage.

In the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to the seventh aspect of the present invention, the control unit 300 stops the forward driving of the delivery roller by the sheet feeding motor at the timing when the second and subsequent sheets have reached the drawing and conveying member. At the same time, the feed roller, the relay transmission member, and the upstream transmission member are normally rotated by carrying out the optional conveyance of the sheet by the drawer conveyance member, thereby utilizing the conveyance force of the arbitrary sheet.
Normal rotation is performed at an appropriate timing during continuous rotation by the feed roller, that is, at a stage where separation of any second or subsequent sheet (for example, the tenth sheet in the 100 sheet bundle) is finished. It is also possible to stop. After the feed roller stops rotating forward, the "play" of the relative rotation section is restored as the feed roller rotates along with an arbitrary sheet.
The optional sheet is a sheet that has reached the drawer conveyance unit at the point when the operator interrupted the sheet feed by switch operation etc., as well as the occurrence of jamming, foreign matter detection, other errors, etc. Includes a sheet that has reached the draw-out transport when it is automatically interrupted.

In the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to the eighth aspect of the present invention, the control means 300 causes the last sheet in the sheet bundle to be drawn out and conveyed by continuously rotating the delivery roller, the feed roller, and the drawing and conveying member continuously. By stopping the normal rotation drive of the delivery roller by the feed motor and carrying out the last delivery of the sheet by the withdrawal transport member at the timing when it reaches the member, the feed force of the last sheet is used to feed A roller, a relay transmission member, and an upstream transmission member are normally rotated.
It is of course possible to stop the forward rotation of the feed roller at the stage when the feeding of all the sheets on the sheet stacking unit is finished by continuously separating the sheets by the feed roller and the brake roller. The "play" of the relative rotation section is restored by the feed roller following the last sheet after the feed roller stops rotating forward.

According to a ninth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a sheet handling apparatus including the first to seventh sheet separating and conveying apparatuses.
This sheet handling apparatus 400 is simple and inexpensive by being applied to a sheet handling apparatus such as a sheet identification machine, a sheet depositing machine, a sheet counting machine, various automatic vending machines, and a change machine. However, double feeding that occurs when the second sheet is fed to the separation unit prior to the first sheet can be effectively prevented.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... banknote (sheet) separation conveyance apparatus, 10 ... banknote (sheet) loading part, 15 ... paper feeding part, 20 ... delivery part, 21 ... delivery roller shaft, 22 ... parallel pin, D ... drive transmission delay mechanism, DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 30 ... Feed roller, 30a ... Division | segmentation piece, 30b ... Division | segmentation piece, 31 ... Delivery roller main body, 31A ... One surface of delivery roller main body 32 ... 1st engaging part, 32a ... Front part, 32b ... Rear part, 33 ... Engagement Section 35 shaft portion 40 first relative rotation section 40a start end 40b end section 45 second relative rotation section 45a start end 45b end section 50 timing clutch (clutch member , 50A: one surface, 51: timing clutch main body, 51B: opposing surface, 52: first engaged portion, 52a: front, 52b: rear, 53: second engaging portion, 53a: front, 53b: Rear, 60 ... upstream timing pulley ( Flow side transmission member), 61: upstream side timing pulley main body, 61B: facing surface, 62: second engaged portion, 62a: front, 62b: rear, 70: paper feed motor, 70a: output gear, 71: Driven gear 75 Start sensor 80 Relative rotation section 100 Separation section 101 Feed roller shaft 102 Parallel pin 110 Feed roller 110a, 110b Split piece 120 Downstream timing pulley (downstream) Side transmission member) 125 Timing belt (relay transmission member) 130 Brake roller 130a One-way clutch 150 Upstream transmission gear 152 Engaged portion 155 Downstream transmission gear 160 Intermediate gear 200: relay transmission unit 250: pull-out conveyance unit 251a, 251b: pull-out roller (draw-out conveyance member) 253: second point sensor 25 ... Drawer conveyance motor, 261 ... return lever, 263 ... sliding member, 265 ... torque limiter, 266 ... washer, 267 ... pressure contact spring, 268 ... stopper, 270 ... return spring, 300 ... control means, 400 ... bill (paper leaf ) Discriminator (sheet handling apparatus), 401: Housing, 402: Deposit port, 403: Deposit tray, 410: Discrimination part, 415: Sorting and conveying part, 420: Authentic bill tray, 421: Fake bill tray

Claims (9)

A feeding unit that feeds sheets one by one from a bundle of sheets by a feeding roller, and a sheet fed first from the feeding section passes only the first sheet of paper in advance when it is in a multifeed state A separation unit that feeds downstream and blocks forward movement of the second and subsequent paper sheets, a drawer conveyance unit that draws out and conveys the first sheet of paper in which a part remains in the separation unit, and the delivery unit Relay transmission unit for transmitting the driving force between the first and second separation units, and the second and subsequent sheets remaining in the separation unit after the first paper sheet passes through the separation unit are returned upstream A sheet separating and conveying apparatus comprising: a multiple sheet returning mechanism; and control means for controlling various control targets,
The delivery unit includes a delivery roller shaft, and the delivery roller that rotates around the delivery roller shaft and is sequentially arranged along the axial direction, the upstream transmission member, and the delivery roller. It has a sheet feeding motor to be driven, and a drive transmission delaying mechanism which provides at least one relative rotation section between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member to delay transmission of driving force in both forward and reverse directions. ,
The separation portion forms a separation nip portion between a feed roller which contacts the first sheet surface fed by the delivery roller to forward the sheet when it is rotated in the normal direction, and the feed roller. And a friction separation member that prevents the advance of the paper sheet after the eyes,
The relay transmission unit is a relay transmission member that relays driving force transmission between the upstream transmission member and the downstream transmission member that is coaxially disposed adjacent to the feed roller and integrally rotates. And
The double sheet return mechanism is disposed between a return lever pivotally supported by the shaft portion of the feed roller so as to be relatively rotatable, a shaft portion of the feed roller and the return lever, and the shaft portion and the shaft portion A torque limiter for integrally rotating the shaft portion and the return lever in the forward rotation direction unless the torque difference between the lever and the return lever exceeds a predetermined value; Equipped with
The drawer conveyance member is disposed at a downstream position at a distance of a distance from the separation nip portion shorter than the length in the conveyance direction of the paper sheet to form a drawer nip portion, and the drawer conveyance which drives the drawer conveyance member Equipped with a motor,
The drive transmission delay mechanism makes the circumferential positional relationship between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member relatively rotatable in both directions between the initial positional relationship and the final positional relationship, and for the upstream transmission member The drive force is not transmitted to the upstream transmission member until the positional relationship of the delivery roller reaches the initial positional relationship to the final positional relationship, and the drive force is transmitted after the final positional relationship is reached. Equipped with
The control means is configured such that the first sheet fed out by the delivery roller as the feed roller rotates in a normal direction reaches the extraction nip portion at a suitable timing when the delivery roller by the paper feed motor The feed roller, the relay transmission member, and the upstream transmission member are fixed by stopping the driving and carrying out the drawing out and conveyance of the sheet by the drawer conveyance member, using the conveyance force of the first sheet. Roll
With respect to the delivery roller in which the upstream side transmission member for forward rotation is in the stopped state, the paper sheet relatively rotates within the range of the relative rotation section until the rear end of the paper sheet passes through the separation nip, The delivery roller and the upstream transmission member return to the initial positional relationship at the end of relative rotation of the transmission member,
The return lever reaches a stop position rotated by a predetermined angle in the forward rotation direction against the return spring by integrally rotating with the shaft portion of the feed roller by the action of the torque limiter at the start of forward rotation of the feed roller. After that, it maintains the stop state while slipping with the shaft,
When the rear end of the first sheet of paper leaves the separation nip portion, the return lever rotates in the return direction by the force of the return spring and rotates the feed roller in the return direction. A sheet separating and conveying apparatus characterized in that the second and subsequent sheets remaining in the separating unit are moved in the return direction. The friction separating member is a brake roller axially supported by a brake roller shaft, and the brake roller does not rotate in the forward direction by a one-way clutch disposed between the brake roller and the brake roller shaft, 2. The sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sheet separating and conveying apparatus is configured to rotate in a return direction. The relative rotation section engages with the engaging portion in the process of being provided on the engaging portion provided on the delivery roller, and provided on the upstream side transmission member and rotating relative to the delivery roller in the forward and reverse directions. It is formed between the part to be engaged and disengaged,
In an initial state in which the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member are stopped, the engaging portion is located on the front side in the normal direction of the engaged portion,
The engaging portion in the initial state separates from the front portion of the engaged portion in the stopped state when the delivery roller rotates forward to feed the first sheet toward the separation nip portion. After rotational movement in the direction, and the engaging portion comes in rotation and abuts on the rear of the engaged portion, the driving force is transmitted to the engaged portion to start the upstream transmission member to rotate forward. The feed roller is driven to rotate in the forward direction through the relay transmission member,
The control means stops driving of the delivery roller by the paper feed motor after the first sheet fed by the delivery roller reaches the take-out nip portion of the draw-out conveying member and the take-out conveyance The feed roller, the relay transmission member, the transfer roller, the transfer roller, the transfer roller, and the transfer roller using the transfer force of the first sheet remaining on the upstream side of the separation nip portion by carrying the sheet by the member The upstream transmission member is rotated forward, and when the engaged portion of the upstream transmission member is in contact with the engagement portion of the delivery roller in a stopped state, or rotated to a position approaching the upstream position, the upstream side is stopped The sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the return of the transmission member and the delivery roller to the initial positional relationship is completed. A clutch member is pivotally supported relative to the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member at a portion of the delivery roller shaft positioned between the delivery roller and the upstream transmission member.
The relative rotation section includes a first relative rotation section formed between the delivery roller and the clutch member, and a second relative rotation section formed between the clutch member and the upstream transmission member. The sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the sheet separating and conveying apparatus is configured by: The first relative rotation section includes a first engaging portion provided on the delivery roller, and the first engaging portion provided on the clutch member and rotating relative to the delivery roller in the forward and reverse directions. And a first engaged portion that engages with or disengages from the
The second relative rotation section is provided in a second engaging portion provided in the clutch member and the upstream transmission member, and is engaged with the second engaging portion in the process of relative rotation in the forward and reverse directions with respect to the clutch member It is formed between the second engagement portion and the second engagement portion which is engaged with or disengaged from the coupling portion,
In an initial state in which the delivery roller, the clutch member, and the upstream transmission member are stopped, the first engagement portion is located forward of the first engaged portion in the normal direction, and the second engagement is performed. The mating portion is located on the front side in the normal direction of the second engaged portion, and
When the delivery roller rotates forward to feed the first sheet toward the separation nip, the first engagement part in the initial state is in front of the first engaged part in the stop state. The first engaging portion rotates and moves in a direction away from the portion, and the driving force is transmitted to the first engaged portion after coming into contact with the rear portion of the first engaged portion. Start normal rotation of the clutch member,
When the second engaging portion in the initial position rotates in the normal direction, the second engaging portion is rotationally moved in the direction away from the front of the second engaged portion, and the second engaging portion orbits, thereby causing the second engaged portion to rotate. After coming into contact with the rear of the joint portion, the drive force is transmitted to the second engaged portion to start rotating the upstream transmission member in the transport direction, and the drive force in the forward direction from the clutch member Driving the feed roller forwardly via the relay transmission member by transmitting the torque to the upstream transmission member,
The control means stops the driving of the feeding roller by the sheet feeding motor at the timing when the first sheet fed by the feeding roller reaches the drawing nip portion of the drawing and conveying member, and the drawing The feed roller, the relay transmission member, and the upstream using the conveyance force by the excess length of the paper sheet left on the upstream side of the separation nip portion by carrying out the drawing and conveyance of the paper sheet by the conveyance member The second engagement portion is rotated until the side transmission member is rotated forward until the second engaged portion of the upstream transmission member contacts the second engagement portion of the clutch member in the stopped state. And when the first engaged portion is rotated to a position where the first engaged portion contacts or approaches the first engaging portion of the feeding roller and stops moving. Cradle Members, and the delivery roller sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that to complete the return to the initial position relationship. The control means continuously drives the delivery roller, the feed roller, and the pull-out conveying member in a forward direction by continuing the first sheet even after the first sheet has passed the separation unit. A sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein the sheet is capable of paper. The control means stops the forward driving of the delivery roller and the feed roller by the paper feed motor at the timing when the second and subsequent optional paper sheets reach the pullout conveyance member and stops the normal rotation drive of the feed roller The feed roller, the relay transmission member, and the upstream transmission member are normally rotated by utilizing the conveyance force of the arbitrary sheet by carrying out the arbitrary sheet withdrawal and conveyance. The sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to any one of Items 1 to 6. The control means continuously rotates the delivery roller, the feed roller, and the pull-out conveying member in a forward direction to continuously feed the sheet at the timing when the last sheet in the sheet bundle reaches the pull-out conveying member. The feeding force of the last sheet is utilized by stopping the forward driving of the delivery roller and the feed roller by the motor and carrying out the last conveyance of the last sheet by the drawer conveyance member. The sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein a feed roller, the relay transmission member, and the upstream transmission member are forwardly rotated. A sheet handling apparatus comprising the sheet separating and conveying apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 8.

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