Note: Descriptions are shown in the official language in which they were submitted.
2 a ~
LEAF PAPER BUNDLING APPARATUS
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a leaf paper bundling
apparatus that winds tape around the outside of leaf paper
that is held in a bundling position, cuts the tape and uses
thermal bonding to bundle the leaf paper.
Conventional leaf paper bundling apparatus, as
disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open Publication No.
109723/1987, stacks the leaf paper that is to be bundled,
at a stacking portion, conveys the stacked leaf paper to a
bundling portion by conveyor means when the number of
leaves has reached a certain number (in the case of
banknotes, this number is customarily 100 of the same
denomination), holds the stack between holder at the
bundling portion, introduces a divider between the leaf
paper held in the holder so that removing the divider winds
the tape around the leaves and the holder when the ends of
tape are held between the leaves, and bonding the cut end
portions of the tape after they have been cut to complete
the bundling operation. The bundled leaf paper is then
pushed out from the-space between the holders.
In addition, a different type of lea~ paper bundling
apparatus only performs bundling and in this type for
example, an operator creates a stack of 100 notes of the
same denomination and introduces them by hand into a
bundling portion of a leaf paper bundling apparatus so that
a portion other than the portion that is being held by hand
is supported by a holder and a divider is inserted in
between the leaves of this portion of the stack and tape
ends are placed inside the stack so that removing the
divider holds the tape ends between the leaves, and winds
the tape around the holder as well, the tape is cut and the
cut end portions of the tape are bonded to complete the
bundling operation. An operator then manually removes the
bundled leaf paper from the space between the holders.
~owever, in the former of these two types of
2 ~
conventional apparatus, the tape is wound around both the
holder and the leaf paper that it holds and so it is
necessary to use a pusher to push the end portion of the
bundle in order to expel it from the holder, and there is a
first problem that the end portion that is pressed may be
marked by the pusher. In addition to this, there is the
additional problem with both the former and the latter
apparatus that when it is easy for the neat bundle to
become uneven when the bundle is removed from the holder,
and this greatly deteriorates the appearance of the bundled
paper.
A third problem exists in that, when the leaf paper is
bundled by the tape, the leading edge of the tape iIl the
direction in which it is wound is turns down the leaves
when the tape is wound and this further deteriorates the
appearance of the bundle.
A first objec~ive of the present invention is to solve
the first and second problems by the provision of a leaf
paper bundling apparatus that bundles leaf paper by winding
~0 tape directly around the leaf paper, and that does not
slacken the tape when there is bundling.
A second objective of the present invention is to solve
the first, second and third problems by winding tape
directly around the leaf paper, and by not allowing the
leaf paper be turned down even when the tape is wound
during bundli.ng.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
The present invention that solves the first and second
of the problems described above for the conventional
technology is a leaf paper bundling apparatus that winds
tape around a periphery of a stack of leaf paper at a
portion other than that which is held by the bundling
apparatus, and performs cutting and thermal bonding of the
tape ends to bundle the leaf paper, and which further
comprises by a tape winding means that winds tape around a
periphery of a stack of leaf paper at a portion other than
2~ 3
that which is held by the bundling apparatus, clamping
means that, after the tape is wound, tightens in the
vicinity of a tape winding portion of the leaf paper, and
tape tightening means to apply tension to the tape, in
which said clamp means has a first and a second clamping
member that contact the top and bottom leaves of the the
leaves that are to be bundled, and clamp, and in which each
of these clamping members has a pair of contact edges that
are positioned on either side across the width of the
banknotes at the portion where the tape is wound, so that
when the leaf paper is clamped by the first and second
clamping members, a tape thermal bonding pad is inserted in
between the contact edges of one of the clamping members.
The second embodiment of the present invention that
solves the first, second and third problems described above
for the conventional technology is a leaf paper bundling
apparatus in which left and right contact edges of first
and second clamping members contact the top and bottom
leaves of a stack of leaf paper, at a portion other than
that which is held by the bundling apparatus, the stack of
leaf paper is compressed and held between these contact
edges of the first and second clamping members and a
tension is applied to the tape as soon as it has been
wound, and when the tape is cut or immediately prior to or
after the tape has been cut, a thermal bonding pad is
inserted between the contact edges of one of the clamping
members to thermally bond the tape so that releasing the
clamping of the stack of leaf paper allows the prompt
removal of the bundled paper.
In addition, in the first and second embodiments, in
addition to the action described above, the length of the
pair of contact edges provided to each of the first and
second clamping members,is such that it is longer than the
width of the banknotes in the direction of winding around
the leaf paper stack and so the entire width of the portion
around which the tape is wound is compressed so that the
tape which has been wound around the stack of leaf paper
CA 020264~6 1997-08-13
and to which a tension has been applied, does not bend the
edges of the leaf paper towards the inside, and a neat
bundle is performed.
In one aspect, the present invention provides a leaf
paper bundling apparatus for winding a tape around a
periphery of a stack of leaf papers having long and short
edges, comprising:
a stacking means for stacking a predetermined number
of leaf papers in an upright position in a direction
parallel to the short edges of the leaf papers and aligning
both the long and short edges of the leaf papers;
a holding and transferring means for holding and
transferring the stacked leaf papers in the upright
position from said stacking means to a bundling position
defined immediately below said stacking means, said holding
and transferring means including left and right holding
fingers for holding the stacked leaf papers and maintaining
the upright position of the stacked leaf papers;
a clamping means having a pair of clamping members for
clamping the stacked leaf papers from both sides thereof at
a position on the stacked leaf papers separated from the
one position whereat the leaf papers are held by said left
and right holding fingers of said holding and transferring
means;
a tape supply means for supplying tape to be wound
around the stacked leaf papers, said tape supply means
being provided adjacent one of said clamping members, and
said tape supply means having tape tightening means for
applying tension to the tape after the tape has been wound
around the stacked leaf papers;
a tape winding means for winding the tape from said
tape supply means around the periphery of the stacked leaf
papers at a position on the stacked leaf papers other than
the one position whereat the leaf papers are held by said
left and right holding fingers of said holding and
transferring means, said tape winding means including a
' CA 020264~6 1997-08-13
fixed holding member and a movable holding member for
holding an end of the tape supplied by said tape supply
means and winding the tape by moving to advance, describe
an arc path at said bundling position around the stacked
leaf papers, release the tape and retreat from said
bundling position in a direction parallel to the long edges
of the leaf papers;
cutting means for cutting the tape after the tape has
been wound around the stacked leaf papers by said tape
winding means and tension has been applied to the tape by
said tape tightening means, said cutting means being
provided adjacent said tape supply means; and
a tape thermal bonding means for adhering the cut ends
of the tape together, said tape thermal bonding means
including a thermal bonding pad moving to the cut ends from
a predetermined position and retreating to said
predetermined position after thermal bonding has been
carried out.
In another aspect, the present invention provides a
leaf paper bundling apparatus for winding a tape around a
periphery of a stack of leaf papers having long and short
edges, comprising:
a stacking device for stacking a predetermined number
of leaf papers;
a holding and transferring device for holding and
transferring the stacked leaf papers in the upright
position from said stacking device to a bundling position
defined below said stacking device;
a pair of clamping members for clamping the stacked
leaf papers therebetween at said bundling position, wherein
each said clamping member has a pair of spaced apart
contact edges having a length dimension greater than the
width of the leaf paper in the direction in which the tape
is wound around the stacked leaf papers for clamping the
stacked leaf paper bundle, with each said pair of spaced
apart contact edges straddling the tape wound around the
4a
- CA 020264~6 1997-08-13
stacked leaf paper on opposite sides of the stacked leaf
paper;
a tape supply means for supplying tape to be wound
around the stacked leaf papers, said tape supply means
being provided adjacent one of said clamping members, and
said tape supply means having tape tightening means for
applying tension to the tape after the tape has been wound
around the stacked leaf papers;
a tape winding means for winding the tape from said
tape supply means around the periphery of the stacked leaf
papers;
cutting means for cutting the tape after the tape has
been wound around the stacked leaf papers by said tape
winding means and tension has been applied to the tape by
said tape tightening means, said cutting means being
provided adjacent said tape supply means; and
a tape thermal bonding means for adhering the cut ends
of the tape together.
A preferred embodiment of the present invention will
become understood from the following detailed description
referring to the accompanying drawings.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
FIG. 1 is an external view of one embodiment of a
bundling apparatus to which the bundling device according
to the present invention has been applied;
FIG. 2 is an outline sectional view of the internal
layout of the bundling apparatus;
FIG. 3 is a sectional view that indicates a first
embodiment of the bundling device according to the present
invention;
FIG. 4 is a perspective view of the embodiment
indicated in FIG. 3;
FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the leaf paper long-
direction alignment mec~nicm;
4b
'~ CA 020264~6 1997-08-13
FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the leaf paper short-
direction alignment mechanism;
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the leaf paper short-
direction alignment mech~nism of FIG. 6;
FIG. 8 is a perspective view along the line VIII-VIII
of FIG. 3;
FIG. 9 is an elevational view of the holding and
transfer means;
FIG. 10 is a perspective view of the thermal bonding
pad mechanism portion and one of the clamping members of
the clamping means;
FIG. 11 is a horizontal section indicating the
clamping member of the clamping means;
FIG. 12 is a horizontal sectional view indicating an
alternative configuration of the clamping means;
FIG. 13 is a perspective view of the tape winding
means;
FIG. 14 is a side elevational view of the cutter
4c
2~2~
mechanism;
FIG. 15 is a frontal elevation of the cutter mechanism;
FIG. 16 A through K are diagrams describing the
operation of the bundling machine; and
FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 are diagrams describing another
embodiment of the present invention.
DE~CRIPTION O~ THE PREFERR~D EMBODIMENTS
The following is a detailed description of an
embodiment according to the present invention, with
reference to the appended drawings.
In this embodiment, the description will be given for
the case where the leaf paper to be bundled is banknotes,
with FIG. 1 being an external view of a banknote
identification, counting and bundling apparatus
(hereinafter called as ~the banknote bundling apparatus")
into which the bundling device according to the present
invention has been applied, and FIG. 2 being a diagrammatic
view of the internal layout thereof. In FIG. 2, the left
side is the front of the banknote bundling apparatus 1 and
a bundling device 2 is incorporated into a machine frame 3,
with this machine frame 3 being so that it can be pulled
out from the front of the banknote bundling apparatus 1.
The front portion and the top portion at the front of the
banknote bundling apparatus 1 has doors 4,5 that can be
fr ely opened to allow maintenance and inspection of the
inside of the bundling device 2.
To the front at the top of the banknote bundling
apparatus 1 is a hopper 6 into which are loaded the
banknotes P that are to be bundled, and a reject portion 7
for the return to a position immediately above, of
banknotes that are not suitable for bundling (because they
are of different denominations, counterfeit, or damaged).
As is shown in FIG. 1, inside the banknote bundling
apparatus 1 is a conveyor path 9 that has an identification
portion 8 that uses transfer means (not indicated in the
figure) to identify each of the banknotes P that have been
2~2~
placed in the hopper 6, and separation flngers 10 on a
separation portion of this conveyor path 9 so that
banknotes that can be bundled are sent to a stacking
portion 11 and banknotes that cannot be bundled are sent to
the reject portion 7.
As shown in FIG. 3, the bundling device 2 is provided
with the stacking portion 11 that aligns both the long and
short edges of the banknotes that are sent via the conveyor
path 9 and which collates and stacks a predetermined number
of banknotes, holding and transfer means 12 that holds and
transfers the collated and stacked banknotes in that state
from the stacking portion 11 to a bundling position A
immediately beneath, clamping means 13 that clamps and
holds the banknotes from both sides at a position that is
~5 separate from the position where the banknotes are held for
transfer to the bundling position A, a supply means 14 that
supplies a tape T for bundling, tape winding means 15 that
winds the tape around the banknotes, a cutter mechanism 16
that cuts the tape T after it has been wound and tension
applied thereto, and an thermal bonding pad 17 that heats
and adheres the cut ends of the tape T.
The stacking portion 11 has a receiving portion 18
which is roughly L,-shaped in elevation, and an upper
portion of an upright portion 19 of the receiving portion
18 is mounted to a shaft 21 at one end of a rocker lever
20. A cam follower 22 at the other end of this rocker
lever 20 contacts a cam 23 and the rotation of the cam 23
is transferred to rock the rocker lever 20. An outside end
edge of a bottom portion 24 of the receiving portion 18 is
formed with a plural number of cutouts 25,25,,, (indicated
in FIG. 6) and peripheral portions of vane wheels 26,26,,,
provided at the end oE the conveyor path 9 enter into these
cutouts 25,25,,, so that the banknotes that P are sent from
the end of the conveyor path 9 are received one at a time
by these vane wheels 26,26,,, so that the rotation of the
vane wheels 26,26,,, in the direction indicated by the
arrow in FIG. 3 and FIG. 6 causes the banknotes P to remain
~2~4.~
on the bottom portion ~24. Also, the bottom portion 24 is
provided with a presser plate 27 that gradually advances
and retreats in accordance with the quantity of stacked
banknotes P that are sent to the bottom portion 24 by the
vane wheels 26,26,,, and the presser plate 27 is supported
by a link mechanism (not indicated in the figure), so that
spring action always urges the stacked banknotes P at a
constant force and in the direction of the vane wheels
26,26,,,. Moreover, the vane wheels 26,26,,, used here are
known and has a plural number of vanes 30,30,,, curved in
the same direction and embedded in the outer surface of a
boss portion 29 fixed to a shaft 28, so that banknotes are
received one at a time between the vanes and are carried to
the side of the stacking portion 11. In addition, 18A is a
guide plate for when the banknotes P are moved to the
bundling position A, has a comb shape and prevents the
entry of the holding fingers into the holding and transfer
means 12 to be described later.
To one end of the stacking portion 11 is provided a
fixed wall 31 that is the reference for aligning the long
edges of the banknotes that are collated and stacked on the
bottom portion 24 of the receiving portion 18, and to the
side at the other end is provided a long side alignment
mechanism 32 that presses the edges of the stacked
banknotes P in the direction of the fixed wall 31 and
aligns them.
As indicated in perspective view in FIG. 5, this long
side alignment mechanism 32 has a belt 39 wound around a
pulley 35 on a shaft (not shown) of a forward/reverse drive
motor 34 fixed to the machine base 33, a pulley 36 axially
supported on the machine base 33, and intermediate pulleys
37,38 so that a forward/reverse rotation is applied within
a predetermined angular range to the pulley 36. And arm 40
is horizontally fixed to the pulley 36 and to a distal end
of the arm 40 is provided an upright, round aligning rod 42
via a bracket 41. Accordingly, the arm 40 swivels from the
position indicated by the solid line in FIG. 5, to the
~32~r~
position indicated by the dotted line so that the round
aligning rod 42 comes into contact with one end portion in
the direction of the long side of the banknotes P on the
receiving portion 18 and presses the banknotes P towards
the side of the fixed wall 31, and the banknotes P are
aligned using the fixed wall 31 as a reference. Moreover,
the angle of rotation of the drive motor 34 is selected so
that changing the swivel angle of the round aligning rod 42
enables it to correspond to banknotes P of different
lengths. In addition, the alignment operation by the round
aligning rod 42 is intermittently driven so that there is
one operation for each 10-20 banknotes P that are sent to
the receiving portion 18.
As shown in FIG. 6, both sides of the stacking portion
11 are provided with short-direction alignment mechanisms
43,43 that align the upper ends of the banknotes P that
are stacked and aligned in the receiving portion 18. These
short-direction alignment mechanisms 43,43 are provided
symmetrically left and right as indicated in the plan view
of FIG. 7 and in the perspective view of FIG. 6, but for
the sake of convenience, the description will be only for
one side (the left side), with corresponding numerals used
for corresponding portions on the other side.
The configuration of the short-direction alignment
mechanism 43 comprises a solenoid 44 fixed to an outer
surface of the machine frame 3, an alignment member 46 for
which a base end is supported by a shaft 45 and which
freely swivels in the direction of the stacking portion 11,
a lever 47 having a ~<" shape and to which one end is
linked to the rear side near the base end of the alignment
member 46, and a lever 48, one end of which is supported by
the machine frame 3 and the other end is linked to the
other end of the lever 47. The plunger 44a of the solenoid
44 is linked to a pin 50 of a pivot 49 of the lever 48 so
that when the plunger 44a is contracted, then as indicated
by the dotted line in FIG. 7, the alignment member 46
swivels from the top portion on the side of the receiving
2 ~
portion 18 to the lower portion, and the alignment portion
46a that is the distal end of the alignment member 46 bent
at right angles, taps the upper ends of the banknotes P
that are collated and stacked on the stacking portion 11.
These short-direction alignment mechanisms 43,43 are
intermittently driven in the same manner.
The holding and transfer means 12 has left and right
holding fingers 52,53 positioned on either side of the
bundling position A, and are located at positions a certain
distance between the the short ends and the centers of the
banknotes P. As indicated in the plan view of FIG. 8, and
the elevational view in FIG. 9, the holding fingers 52,53
each have these ends of two parallel arms 54,55 and 56,57
respectively pivoted to their base portions and the other
ends of the parallel arms 54,55 and 56,57 are either
directly or indirectly pivoted on the side of the banknote
bundling apparatus 1 so that they configure a parallel link
mechanism in which each of the holding fingers 52,53 can
maintain a mutually parallel status while advancing and
retreating. In FIG. 8, a cam follower 58 is pivotally
mounted to the base end curved portion of one of the arms
54 of one of the holding fingers 52 on one side (the left
side) and a spring (not indicated in the figure) brings it
into contact with the surface of a cam 59 pivotally
supported on the machine frame 3, the base end of one of
the arms 56 of the holding finger 52 of the other side (the
right side) is linked to an auxiliary lever 61 supported by
a pivot 60 to the machine frame 3, and a cam follower 62
pivotally mounted to the base curved portion of the
auxiliary lever 61 is urged by a spring 64 to contact the
surface of a cam 63 on the same shaft as the cam 59.
Accordingly, because of the action of the spring 64 when
the holding finger 52 comes into contact with the banknotes
P, it is possible to correspond to banknotes P of different
thicknesses.
One oE the holding surfaces of the holding fingers
52,53 has, as shown in FIG. 9, a protrusion surface 52a on
2~26
which there are circular protrusions, and the other of the
holding surfaces of the holding fingers 52,53 has a recess
surface 53a on which there are circular recesses
corresponding to the circular protrusions in the protrusion
5 surface 52a, so that when banknotes P are held between the
holding fingers 52,53, they bent along its long direction
and do not slip even when they are held from one side only.
A lift mechanism 66 of a machine base 65 that supports
these holding fingers 52,53 has, as indicated in FIG. 9, is
supported by a shaft 67 having a non-circular cross section
and which has its upper and lower ends supported by the
machine base 65 so that it cannot rotate, and a pulley 71
is rotated by a motor 68 on the machine frame 3 via a worm
gear 69 and a worm wheel 70, and a belt 73 is wound around
the pulley 71 and a pulley 72 pivotally supported towards
the bottom of the machine frame 3, with the belt 73 and the
machine base 65 being linked by a linking member 74 so that
the rotational movement of the belt 73 raises and lowers
the machine base 65.
A belt 77 is wound around a pulley 75 that rotates by
the rotation of the motor 68, and a pulley 76 on the shaft
67 and a belt 81 is wound around another pulley 78 on the
shaft 67 and a pulley 80 on a shaft 79 of the cams 59 and
63 mentioned above, so that it applies a rotational motion
to these cams so that the cam shape of these cams 59,63
moves the holding fingers 52,53 in the direction whereby
the come together, and in the direction where they return
to the position indicated in FIG. 8.
In addition, as shown in FIG. 8, towards the bottom of
the shaft 67 are provided a detector plate 67a and a
detection sensor S6 in order to detect the rotational
position of the shaft 67, and these detect the holding
position and the opening position of the holding fingers
52,53.
The machine frame 3 is provided with sensors S1, S2 and
S3 that detect the position of the machine base 65. Sensor
S1 detects the standby position (the position indicated in
2 ~
FIG. 3), the sensor S2 detects the position where the
stacking portion 11 holds the banknotes P and the sensor S3
detects the position where the movement to the bundling
position A stops.
As indicated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the clamping means
13 has left and right clamping members 82,83 shaped like a
letter C, when seen from above, and opposing each other,
and the left and right clamping members 82,83 are disposed
on the left and right sides of the bundling position A, so
that position where the banknotes P are held by the
holding fingers 52,53 is maintained at a position close to
the opposite end.
One of the clamping members 82 (the left clamping
member in the diagram) is supported so that it guides guide
shafts 84,85 provided on the machine frame 3 and freely
advances towards and retreats from the bundling position A,
and the base end at the bottom of the machine frame 3 is
linked with play by a long hole 88 and a pin 87 to the top
end of a lever 86 that is pivotably supported, and a cam
follower 89 pivotably attached along the lever 86 receives
an urging force of a spring and contacts the surface of a
cam 90, so that the rotational motion of this cam causes
the clamping member 82 to freely advance and retreat along
the guide shafts 84,85.
In this embodiment, a stamp 91 is built into the
clamping member 82 and the stamp 91 freely advances and
retreats along the guide shafts 92,93, and the upper end of
a lever 94 pivotable supported on the same shaft as the
lever 86 is freely linked by a pin and a long hole. A cam
follower 95 pivotably attached along the lever 94 receives
the urging force of a spring and is brought into contact
with the surface of another cam 96 on the same shaft. The
shape of the cam 96 causes the stamp 91 to advance for a
predetermined time as will be described later, and to
perform a stamping operation.
The clamping member 83 on the other side (the right
side in the diagram) is escapably supported by springs
1 1
2~2~
99,100 so that it freely advances and retreats along the
guide shafts 97,98 provided to the machine frame 3, in the
direction of the bundling position A , and a base portion
towards the bottom of the machine frame 3 is linked with
play by a pin 102 and a long hole 103, so that a cam
follower 104 pivotable attached along this lever 101
receives an urging force of a spring and is brought into
contact with the surface of a cam 105. The shape of the
cam 105 is such that the clamping member 83 advances to
slightly ahead of the clamping member 82 previously
described.
To an upper portion of the C-shaped inner portion of
the clamping member 83 are fixed tape guides 107 that have
a C-shape when seen in plan, and on which guides 106,106 at
the left and rlght dlstal ends open outwards as indicated
in FIG. 10, and the width of the inside portion is slightly
wider than the width of the tape T. In addition, the
banknote P contact edges 83a,83a of the clamping member 83
have a width that extends in the longitudinal direction as
indicated in FIG. 11 and have portions a,a opposing contact
edges 82a,82a of the clamping member 82, and which have
positions b,b opposing both side portions of 108 which is
to be described later. Accordingly, the portions a,b can
be formed by being the end of the clamping member 83 at
right angles. However, as indicated in FIG. 12, a separate
member 109 can be fixed to the inner side of the clamping
member 82 and the opposing portions b,b formed as the
contact edges 83a,83a.
As indicated in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, the tape supply
means 14 has a flat tape passage 111 to guide the tape T
led via intermediate reels 110,110,,, from a tape reel (not
indicated in the figure), and a leading end of the passage
111 is open in the direction of the bundling position A,
and of the upper and lower rollers 112,113 that are tape
supply rotating bodies at the trailing end of this passage
111, the roller 113 (or a belt) is rotatably driven by a
pulse motor 114 so that it can be driven in the forward and
2 ~
reverse directions, and so the tape T is fed out by the
necessary amount and so that if necessary, the motor can be
reversed to apply a tension to the tape T. In the vicinity
of the leading end of the tape passage 111 is provided a
sensor S4 to detect the leading end position of the tape T.
As indicated in FIG. 13, the tape winding means 15 has
a movable holding member 116 and a fixed holding member 115
that holds the fed out end of the tape T, and the holding
members 115,116 advance and retreat and swivel so as to
describe an arc path indicated by the letter B in FIG. 3,
at the bundling position A.
The fixed holding member 115 is provided fixed to the
distal end of a swivel arm 119 supported so as to be freely
rotatable by a shaft 118 to a moving frame 117, and the
movable holding member 116 has a structure that opens and
closes with respect to the fixed holding member 115
supported by a shaft 120 to the previously mentioned swivel
arm 119, and a spring 121 fitted between its base end and a
swivel arm 119 urges the distal ends of both holding
members 115,116 to close. In addition, the curved end of
the base portion of the movable holding member 116 has a
cam follower 122 pivotably attached to it and the cam
follower 122 is provided so as to be in free contact with a
cam portion 124 of a cam member 123 provided to the side of
~5 the machine frame 3, so that when the cam follower 122
rides onto the cam member 124 (the status indicated in FIG.
13), the distal end of the movable holding member 116 is
separated from the distal end of the fixed holding member
115.
The cam member 123 is rotatably supported inside its
horizontal surface by a shaft 125 on the side of the
machine frame 3, and the cam member 123 is linked via a
linkage lever 128 with a plunger 127 of a solenoid 126, so
that when the plunger 127 is contracted, the cam member 124
is guided by a roller 130 on the side of the machine frame
3 and which engages with a curved long hole 129, and is
swivelled in the anticlockwise direction (the direction of
13
2 ~
the arrow, in FIG. 13) around the center of the shaft 125.
The moving frame 117 that supports the holdi.ng members
115,116 is supported so as to freely advance and retreat
along guide shafts 131,131 fixed to the machine frame 3,
and a gear 132 is pivotably attached to the moving frame
117, with the direction of motion of the moving frame 117
being the direction of the shaft.
The mechanism that retreats the moving frame 117 has
one end of a lever 136 pivotably and eccentrically attached
with respect to a shaft 134 of a member 135 fixed to the
shaft 134 of a motor 133 mounted to the machine frame 3,
and the other end of the lever 136 is linked to the moving
frame 117 by one end of a -;ocker arm 138 pivoted by a shaft
137, and a long hole 139 on the other side of the rocker
arm 138 engages with a pin 140 of the moving frame 117, so
that the motor 133 advances and retreats the moving frame
117 by a predetermined stroke, via the lever 136 and the
rocker arm 138.
The gear 132 engages with a long gear 141 having
elongated teeth and which is pivotably supported on the
side of the machine frame 3 and is status of engagement of
the gears 132,141 is maintained even when the moving frame
117 is advanced or retreated. In addition, the gear 141
on the side of the machine frame 3 transmits the rotation
of a motor 142 via a timing belt 143. Moreover, Ss is a
rotation detection sensor and 144 is a detection plate
having a detection portion 145.
As shown in FIG. 14 and FIG. 15, the cutter mechanism
16 cuts the tape T by swiveling when a solenoid 148 moves a
cutter arm 147 having a blade perpendicularly attached at
its distal end, downwards and the lever mechanism is
provided between a plunger 149 and the cutter arm 147 so as
to increase the swivel angle of a blade 146 with respect to
the stroke of the plunger 149 of the solenoid 148. This
lever mechanism links one end of a short lever 152 to one
end of an L-shaped lever 151 pivoted at its bend by a shaft
150 on the machine frame 3, and the other end of the lever
14
~2~j6
152 is linked at a position close to a pivot shaft 153 of
the cutter arm 147, so that when the plunger 149 is
contracted, the L-shaped lever 151 rotates about the center
of the pivot 150 in the clockwise direction indicated in
the figure, the short lever 152 is raised, and the cutter
arm 147 rotates about the center of the pivot 153 and
swivels a large distance in the clockwise direction
indicated in the figure.
As shown in FIG. 3, the thermal bonding pad mechanism
17 has a lever 156 pivotably attached to the lower end of
an arm 155 to which one end is pivoted by a shaft 154 to
the machine frame 3, and is at a constant position with
respect to the arm 155 that is drawn by a spring 157, and
the lever 156 has a thermal bonding pad mounted to it. Cam
followers 159,160 pivotably mounted along the arm 155
receive the urging force of the spring 157 and are
successively brought into contact with the cam surface, and
the rotation of a cam 161 swivels so that a thermal bonding
pad 158 swivels in the direction of the bundling position
A, and in the diagram, the clamping means 13 enters from
the bottom into the clamping member 82 on the left side.
A separate pressing-down lever 162 is mounted to the
shaft 154 of the arm 155 as the means to press the tape T,
and a receiving portion 163 at its distal end contacts the
lower end of the tape T that is wound around the banknotes
P at the bundling position A, and is structured so that the
tape T does not slacken.
The following is an explanation of the operation of the
embodiment described above.
In FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, the banknotes P that are to be
bundled are placed on the hoper 6 of the bundling machine
1, so that pressing the start button takes the banknotes
one at a time into the inlet means (not indicated in the
diagram). The banknotes P that have been taken in are
identified by the identification means 8 as to whether or
not they are banknotes P suitable for bundling, and if they
are suitable, are sent to the stacking portion 11 via the
2~
conveyor path 9, and if they are banknotes P of differing
denominations, counterfeit banknotes or doubly fed
banknotes that are not suitable for bundling, then the a
signal ~rom the identification portion 8 switches the
separation fingers 10 and the unsuitable banknotes P are
returned to the reject portion 7. The banknotes P that
are sent to the stacking portion 11 are sent to the
receiving portion 18 after having been taken in one at a
time between the vanes 30,30,,, of the vane wheels 26,26,,,
and are left on the bottom portion 24 where they are
successively collated and aligned in an upright position.
During this time, the round aligning rod 42 is
intermittently driven by the long side alignment mechanism
32 so that it swivels and strikes one of the long ends of
the banknotes P while the other of the long ends of the
banknotes P is pressed against the fixed wall 31 so that
the edges of the banknotes P are aligned. In addition, at
the same time, the short-direction alignment mechanisms
43,43 intermittently operate and their alignment members
46,46 swivel and press the upper edge of the banknotes P
with the alignment portion 46a so that the edges of the
banknotes P are aligned in the short direction.
As indicated in FIG. 16A through FIG. 16K, when a
predetermined number of banknotes P (customarily 100) are
stacked in the aligned status in the stacking portion 11,
the driving of the motor 68 of the holding and transfer
means 12 causes the machine base 65 to rise because of the
belt 73 and the left and right holding fingers 52,53 rise
in the open status and proceed to positions between the
center and the short ends of the banknotes P in the
stacking portion 11, where they holding fingers 52,53 close
by the rotation of the cams 59,60 that are rotated by the
motor 68, and hold the banknotes P between them (See FIG.
16A).
After the banknotes P have been held, the rotation of
the cam 23 rocks the rocker lever 20 around the pivot 21
and in the clockwise direction as indicated in the FIG.
16
4 ~ ,3
16B, and the receiving portion 18 retreats from the lower
portlon of the banknotes P while at the same time, the
motor 142 of the tape winding means 15 is driven and
swivels the swivel arm 119 through the gears 141,132, so
that the cam follower 112 of the movable holding member 116
falls from the cam follower 124, the movable holding member
116 is closed by the urging force of spring 121, and the
end of the tape T protrudes from the distal end of the tape
passage 111 between the distal ends of the fixed holding
member 115 and the movable holding member 116, and is held.
After this, the swivel arm 119 rotates further and stops
once at the position as shown in FIG. 16C, which is
approximately three quarters of the range of motion. By
this, the tape T that has been drawn out is lowered,
slackened and drawn at the bundling position A, across the
banknotes P. Then, the machine base 65 of the holding and
transfer means 12 lowers once again and the banknotes P are
moved to the bundling position A (See FIG.16D). I'he
presser plate 27 of the stacking portion 11 advances since
i-t holds no banknotes P, and returns to the position where
it is in contact with the outer surface of the vane wheels
26,26,...
Then, one of the clamping members 83 having a tape
guide 107 for the clamping means 13 advances prior to the
other (See FIG.16E), and the tape T on the side of the end
that is held by and drawn out from the tape winding means
15 is led to between the guides 106,106 of the tape guide
107, and the position of the tape T controlled.
After this, the holding members 115,116 rotate further,
and winds the tape T around the banknotes P but at this
time, when the tape T passes the leading edge tape passage
111 of the tape supply means 14, that is, when the tape T
passes a predetermined position shown in FIG. 16A, the cam
follower 122 of the movable holding member 116 rides up on
the cam portion 124 and cancels the holding of the tape T
50 that when it passes a second time, the solenoid 126
operates and the cam member 123 is drawn to release the cam
2a~"
portion 124. The cam follower 122 of the movable holding
member 116 does not interfere with the cam portion 124 even
when it rotates and therefore allows the tape T to pass
while holding it. Then, the tape winding means 15 stops
when the holding members 115,116 have rotated more than
once and have come to a position where the tape T is
partially overlapped (See FIG. 16F). After this, the pulse
motor 114 of the tape supply means 14 rotates in reverse
for a predetermined time, and a tension is applied to the
Tape T. When this occurs, when the friction between the
tape surface and the roller 113 causes the tension of the
tape T to reach a certain amount, the roller 113 slips and
so the tape T binds the banknotes P at a constant force.
After this, the reversing of the pulse motor 114 by a
predetermined number of pulses feeds out a constant amount
of the tape T so that the binding force of the tape T is
decreased slightly.
Then, the cam 161 of the mechanism 17 rotates and the
arm 155 is rotated about the center of the pivot 154, in
the clockwise direction in the diagram, and the receiving
portion 163 of the bottom support lever 162 contacts and
presses against the lower edge corner portion of the tape T
that is wound around the banknotes P, and the thermal
bonding pad 158 enters into the clamping member 82 and
contacts the overlapping portion of the tape T that was
wound first (See FIG. 16G), and starts the thermal bonding
of the tape T.
After this, the motor 114 of the tape supply means 14
rotates in the forward direction for a predetermined number
of pulses, and the tape T is slackened, the cutter
mechanism 16 operates and the cutter 146 contacts the tape
T (See FIG. 16H) and performs cutting. After cutting, the
thermal bonding pad 158 proceeds further and thermally
bonds the cut ends of the tape T (See FIG. 16I).
After the tape has been cut, the motor 133 of the tape
tape winding means 15 is driven and moving frame 117 is
retreated via the lever 136 and the rocker arm 138 (to the
2~2~L.~.3v
left in FIG. 13~, so that the gear 132 slides while it is
still engaged with the gear 141 and draws back the shaft
118, the holding members 115,116 are pulled back and the
pull from the bottom of the tape T that is wound around the
banknotes P. After this, the stamp 91 advances and presses
a predetermined seal on the surface of the tape T.
After the adhering of the tape T has been completed,
the iron 158 returns (See FIG. 16J), and at the same time,
the holding fingers 52,53 of the holding and transfer means
12 separate and cancel the holding of the banknotes P, and
then the clamping members 82,83 of the clamping means 13
separate and release the bundled banknotes P in the
downwards direction, and all of the portions return to the
statuses indicated in from FIG. 16A through FIG. 16K, and
the bundled banknotes P are collected inside an appropriate
receiving box.
The description for the embodiment indicated in the
figures has been given in terms of a bundling apparatus but
it is of course possible to apply the present invention for
bundling of other than leaf paper, and the configuration of
each of the portions is not necessarily limited to the
embodiment indicated in the figures but can be subjected to
appropriate design changes. In addition, the period for
which there is thermal bonding of the tape T can start
either after the tape has been cut, or the thermal bonding
can start before the tape has been cut and further thermal
bonding performed to bond the cut ends of the tape after
the tape has been cut. Furthermore, the period for which
the holding is cancelled can end either before or after the
clamping of the leaf paper is cancelled.
The following is a description of another embodiment of
the present invention, in which the leaf paper bundling
apparatus performs only the bundling of banknotes.
In this embodiment, an operator takes a stack of
collated and aligned banknotes by hand and inserts them to
the bundling position A, holds them while they are being
bundled and removes them by hand from the bundling position
1~
A after they have been bundled. In this manner, the
operator holds the unbundled banknotes P by hand while the
bundling operation is being performed and so there is no
mechanism (the portions indicated by the numerals
6,7,8,9,10,11) for the stacking portion 11 and upstream and
there is no holding and transfer means 12 but the other
portions of the configuration (the portions indicated by
13,14,15,16 and 17) are all the same as for the previous
configuration.
A specific example of this embodiment is indicated in
FIG. 17 and FIG. 18 and in this embodiment, there is a
banknote insertion and holding device 200 that has the same
configuration as the portions (13,14,15,16,17) of the other
configuration already described
This banknote insertion and holding device 200 has a
banknote insertion inlet 201 with a width larger than the
thickness of the unbundled banknotes P' and the banknote
insertion inlet 201 has its top portion open so that the
unbundled banknotes P' can be inserted by dropping them in
from above. The bottom end portion of the unbundled
banknotes P' that are inserted into this banknote insertion
inlet 201 are pressed by a back stopper 202 that determines
the insertion position. This back stopper 202 is fixed by
a fixed rotating arm 204 to a rotational drive shaft 203
and its position at the time when unbundled banknotes P'
have been inserted into the banknote insertion inlet 201
and the machine is in the standby status, is the position
that is indicated in FIG. 18 but when the tape tape winding
means 15 is rotating, the back stopper 202 retreats by the
rotation through a predetermined angle of rotation by the
rotational drive shaft 203 and the rotating arm 204 so that
it does not interfere with the tape winding means 15.
Accordingly, in this embodiment, the motor lg2 of the
tape tape winding means 15 starts by the manual operation
of a set switch provided separately to the power switch,
and the tape tape winding means 15 that holds the tape T
moves from a position (B) (in FIG. 16) to the position
-
indicated in FIG. 17 and stops. Moreover, this status
indicated in FIG . 17 corresponds to the status indicated in
FIG. 16C, and the position of the tape winding means 15 is
the same as position in FIG. 16C and the position in FIG.
17. Immediately after, the back stopper 202 rotates from
its retreated position and stops at the position indicated
in ~IG. 18.
In this status, the unbundled banknotes P~ (customarily
100 in the case of banknotes) are inserted to the banknote
insertion inlet 201 while they are being held by the
operator. In this case, the unbundled banknotes P' are
inserted to a position slightly above the inside of the
banknote insertion inlet 201 (i.e. a position indicated by
the double-dotted line in FIG. 17, that is to say, the
upper position not in contact with the tape T) and the end
portion of the unbundled banknotes P' is pushed against the
back stopper 202.
Then, while the unbundled banknotes P' are being held
manually, and lowered along the opening edge 201a of the
banknote insertion inlet 201, they unbundled banknotes P~
are held in the status (the status indicated in FIG . 17 and
FIG. 18) where they are in contact with this opening edge
201a (corresponding to the status indicated in FIG. 16D).
At this time, there is a slight gap between the unbundled
banknotes P~ and the opening edge 201c.
When the lower edge of the unbundled banknotes P' comes
into contact with the opening edge 201b, a detector switch
(not indicated in the figure) detects the unbundled
banknotes P' and the back stopper 202 moves to the retreat
position.
Then, the clamping member 83 which is the clamping
member that has the tap guide 107 of the clamping means 13
advances first and the operations indicated in FIG.
16F,G,H,I,J and K are performed and the clamping members
82,83 separate. This separation of the clamping members
82,83 is indicated to the operator by a lamp for example,
and the operator pulls out the bundled banknotes from the
2 ~
banknote insertion inlet 201. This pulling out of the
bundled banknotes is detected by a detection means (not
indicated in the figure) and the operations corresponding
to of FIG. 16~ and FIG. 16C are performed and the tape
winding means 15 is placed in the position indicated in
FIG. 17. The rotation of the rotational drive shaft 203
causes the back stopper 202 to proceed once again from the
retreat position to the position indicated in FIG. 18 and
the device enters the standby status for the insertion of
the next stack of unbundled banknotes P'.
In this manner, the present invention can perform
bundling even if the unbundled banknotes P' are held by
hand.
According to the first embodiment as has been described
above, in the bundling position, there is a structure that
winds tape around the leaf paper at a position where the
leaf paper is not being held, and that also uses a first
and a second clamping members in the vicinity of that
winding position to compress and hold the leaf paper, with
a tension being applied to the tape in the status where the
leaf paper is being held by the left and right contact
edges of these first and second clamping members, so that
the tape is cut and thermally bonded by a thermal bonding
pad iron and without the necessity to wind the tape around
the holders as is the case for the conventional device.
There is also the effect of being able to remove the
bundled leaf paper by simply releasing the hold by the
clamping members after bundling and so there are no process
that damage the leaf paper, resulting in a neat bundle. In
addition, each of the clamping members have left and right
contact edges which compress and hold the lead paper so
that it is possible to tightly compress the leaf paper at
the position where it is to be bound and therefore achieve
bundling without any slackening of the tape.
In addition, according to the second embodiment, the
length of the contact edges of the clamping members is
larger than the width of the leaf paper in the direction of
2 ~ r3 ',~
winding the tape and the leaf paper is held in the status
where the edge portions of the contact edges protrude past
the leaf paper and so in addition to the effect described
above, there is the additional effect of preventing the
ends of the paper from being bent and pulled down when the
tape is wound around the leaf paper, so that there is no
damage to the bundled leaf paper and a neat bundle is
produced.
While the presently preferred embodiments of the
present invention have been shown and disclosed, it is to
be understood that this disclosure is for the purpose of
illustration and that various changes and modifications may
be made without departing from the scope of the invention
as set forth in the appended claims.
I
