U.S. patent application number 14/198678 was filed with the patent office on 2014-09-25 for paper sheet pickup device and paper sheet processing apparatus.
This patent application is currently assigned to Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba. The applicant listed for this patent is Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba. Invention is credited to Haruhiko Horiuchi.
Application Number | 20140284867 14/198678 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 50238110 |
Filed Date | 2014-09-25 |
United States Patent
Application |
20140284867 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
Horiuchi; Haruhiko |
September 25, 2014 |
PAPER SHEET PICKUP DEVICE AND PAPER SHEET PROCESSING APPARATUS
Abstract
According to one embodiment, a paper sheet pickup device
includes an input portion, pickup mechanism, and pickup assist
mechanism. The pickup mechanism picks up, one by one, the paper
sheets supplied to a pickup position. The pickup assist mechanism
is arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism in the pickup
direction of the paper sheet. The pickup assist mechanism includes
a suction belt configured to be arranged to be able to travel in
the pickup direction, an air drawing portion configured to suck a
paper sheet to the suction belt through the suction belt, and a
driving motor configured to drive the suction belt.
Inventors: |
Horiuchi; Haruhiko;
(Yokohama-shi, JP) |
|
Applicant: |
Name |
City |
State |
Country |
Type |
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba |
Tokyo |
|
JP |
|
|
Assignee: |
Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba
Tokyo
JP
|
Family ID: |
50238110 |
Appl. No.: |
14/198678 |
Filed: |
March 6, 2014 |
Current U.S.
Class: |
271/3.19 ;
271/12 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B65H 3/124 20130101;
B65H 3/54 20130101; B65H 2701/1916 20130101; B65H 5/26 20130101;
B65H 2406/32 20130101; B65H 5/224 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
271/3.19 ;
271/12 |
International
Class: |
B65H 5/26 20060101
B65H005/26; B65H 5/22 20060101 B65H005/22 |
Foreign Application Data
Date |
Code |
Application Number |
Mar 21, 2013 |
JP |
2013-058580 |
Claims
1. A paper sheet pickup device comprising: an input portion
configured to place a plurality of paper sheets while overlapping
each other; a pickup mechanism configured to pick up, one by one,
the paper sheets supplied to a pickup position of the input
portion; and a pickup assist mechanism configured to be arranged
upstream of the pickup mechanism in a pickup direction of the paper
sheet, the pickup assist mechanism including a suction belt
configured to be arranged to be able to travel in the pickup
direction, an air drawing portion configured to suck a paper sheet
to the suction belt through the suction belt, and a driving motor
configured to drive the suction belt, and the pickup assist
mechanism sucking a paper sheet to the suction belt to feed the
paper sheet to the pickup position, and while the pickup mechanism
picks up the paper sheet, sucking and holding a next paper
sheet.
2. The paper sheet pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the
pickup mechanism includes a pickup belt configured to pick up a
paper sheet present at the pickup position, an air drawing portion
configured to evacuate through the pickup belt and suck the paper
sheet to the pickup belt, and a driving motor configured to drive
the pickup belt to travel in the pickup direction, and the driving
motor of the pickup assist mechanism drives the suction belt at a
speed lower than a traveling speed of the pickup belt.
3. The paper sheet pickup device according to claim 2, wherein a
width of the suction belt is formed to be smaller than a width of
the pickup belt.
4. The paper sheet pickup device according to claim 1, wherein the
air drawing portion of the pickup assist mechanism includes a
sub-air chamber configured to be open to the paper sheets in the
input portion, a negative pressure generator configured to evacuate
an inside of the sub-air chamber, and a guide plate configured to
cover the opening of the sub-air chamber, face the paper sheets,
and include a plurality of evacuation holes, and the suction belt
includes a plurality of suction holes, and is arranged on the guide
plate to overlap the guide plate.
5. The paper sheet pickup device according to claim 2, wherein the
air drawing portion of the pickup assist mechanism includes a
sub-air chamber configured to be open to the paper sheets in the
input portion, a negative pressure generator configured to evacuate
an inside of the sub-air chamber, and a guide plate configured to
cover the opening of the sub-air chamber, face the paper sheets,
and include a plurality of evacuation holes, and the suction belt
includes a plurality of suction holes, and is arranged on the guide
plate to overlap the guide plate.
6. The paper sheet pickup device according to claim 3, wherein the
air drawing portion of the pickup assist mechanism includes a
sub-air chamber configured to be open to the paper sheets in the
input portion, a negative pressure generator configured to evacuate
an inside of the sub-air chamber, and a guide plate configured to
cover the opening of the sub-air chamber, face the paper sheets,
and include a plurality of evacuation holes, and the suction belt
includes a plurality of suction holes, and is arranged on the guide
plate to overlap the guide plate.
7. A paper sheet processing apparatus including a paper sheet
pickup device defined in claim 1, comprising: a determination unit
configured to determine a sorting destination of a paper sheet
picked up by the paper sheet pickup device; and a stacking unit
configured to stack the paper sheet sorted based on a result of the
determination of the sorting destination by the determination
unit.
8. A paper sheet processing apparatus including a paper sheet
pickup device defined in claim 2, comprising: a determination unit
configured to determine a sorting destination of a paper sheet
picked up by the paper sheet pickup device; and a stacking unit
configured to stack the paper sheet sorted based on a result of the
determination of the sorting destination by the determination
unit.
9. A paper sheet processing apparatus including a paper sheet
pickup device defined in claim 3, comprising: a determination unit
configured to determine a sorting destination of a paper sheet
picked up by the paper sheet pickup device; and a stacking unit
configured to stack the paper sheet sorted based on a result of the
determination of the sorting destination by the determination
unit.
10. A paper sheet processing apparatus including a paper sheet
pickup device defined in claim 4, comprising: a determination unit
configured to determine a sorting destination of a paper sheet
picked up by the paper sheet pickup device; and a stacking unit
configured to stack the paper sheet sorted based on a result of the
determination of the sorting destination by the determination
unit.
11. A paper sheet processing apparatus including a paper sheet
pickup device defined in claim 5, comprising: a determination unit
configured to determine a sorting destination of a paper sheet
picked up by the paper sheet pickup device; and a stacking unit
configured to stack the paper sheet sorted based on a result of the
determination of the sorting destination by the determination
unit.
12. A paper sheet processing apparatus including a paper sheet
pickup device defined in claim 6, comprising: a determination unit
configured to determine a sorting destination of a paper sheet
picked up by the paper sheet pickup device; and a stacking unit
configured to stack the paper sheet sorted based on a result of the
determination of the sorting destination by the determination unit.
Description
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is based upon and claims the benefit of
priority from prior Japanese Patent Application No. 2013-58580,
filed Mar. 21, 2013, the entire contents of which are incorporated
herein by reference.
FIELD
[0002] Embodiments described herein relate generally to a paper
sheet pickup device and paper sheet processing apparatus.
BACKGROUND
[0003] A paper sheet processing apparatus such as a postal matter
processing apparatus which handles postcards, letters, and the like
includes, e.g., a pickup device, a determination device (OCR), a
stacking device, a reject (RJ) stacking device, a switchback
device, a conveyance path which connects the respective devices,
and a gate which distributes conveyed paper sheets (postal matters)
to the respective devices. A plurality of paper sheets set at the
supply portion of the pickup device are separated and picked up one
by one by the pickup device, and fed to the determination device.
The determination device determines the paper sheet, and decides
the destination of the paper sheet, e.g., the RJ stacking device or
the stacking device. After that, the paper sheet is conveyed to the
decided device via the conveyance path and gate mechanism, and
undergoes various processes inside the device.
[0004] As the pickup device of the paper sheet processing
apparatus, there has been provided a suction pickup device which
sucks a paper sheet by a negative pressure and picks it up. This
pickup device sucks a paper sheet present at a pickup position to a
perforated belt by using the perforated belt and an air chamber,
and picks up paper sheets one by one by the perforated belt. In the
pickup device, a suction roller is arranged upstream of the
perforated belt. When there is an unaligned paper sheet, the
suction roller feeds the paper sheet to the pickup position.
[0005] In the above-mentioned pickup device, the suction roller is
connected to a vacuum pump and set to a low pressure. However, the
surface of the suction roller is made of a metal and has a small
friction coefficient. In addition, a surface of the suction roller
that sucks a paper sheet is curved. For this reason, the suction
roller cannot tightly suck a paper sheet, and it is difficult to
exert a satisfactory feeding force.
Object of the Invention
[0006] The present invention has as its object to provide a paper
sheet pickup device capable of stably picking up a paper sheet at a
high speed, and a paper sheet processing apparatus.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS
[0007] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a postal
matter processing apparatus according to an embodiment;
[0008] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the pickup device of the
postal matter processing apparatus;
[0009] FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the input portion and
pickup mechanism of the pickup device;
[0010] FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the operations
of the pickup mechanism and pickup assist mechanism of the pickup
device; and
[0011] FIG. 5 is a plan view schematically showing the operations
of the pickup mechanism and pickup assist mechanism of the pickup
device.
DETAILED DESCRIPTION
[0012] According to one embodiment, a paper sheet pickup device
includes an input portion, pickup mechanism, and pickup assist
mechanism. In the input portion, a plurality of paper sheets are
placed while overlapping each other. The pickup mechanism picks up,
one by one, the paper sheets supplied to the pickup position of the
input portion. The pickup assist mechanism is arranged upstream of
the pickup mechanism in the pickup direction of the paper sheet.
The pickup assist mechanism includes a suction belt configured to
be arranged to be able to travel in the pickup direction, an air
drawing portion configured to suck a paper sheet to the suction
belt through the suction belt, and a driving motor configured to
drive the suction belt. The pickup assist mechanism sucks a paper
sheet to the suction belt to feed it to the pickup position, and
while the pickup mechanism picks up the paper sheet, sucks and
holds the next paper sheet.
[0013] A preferred embodiment of the present invention will now be
described in detail with reference to the accompanying
drawings.
[0014] FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing a postal
matter processing apparatus (paper sheet processing apparatus) 100
including a paper sheet pickup device 10 according to the
embodiment. In addition to the pickup device 10, the postal matter
processing apparatus 100 includes a determination unit 102,
rejection unit 104, switchback unit 106, and stacking unit 108.
Note that a paper sheet to be processed by the processing apparatus
100 according to the embodiment is a postal matter, but a medium to
be processed (i.e., a paper sheet) is not limited to a postal
matter.
[0015] A stack of postal matters such as postcards or letters is
set in the pickup device 10. The pickup device operates in a manner
to be described later, picking up the postal matters one by one
onto a conveyance path 101. A plurality of pairs of endless
conveyance belts (not shown) extend on the conveyance path 101 to
sandwich it. The picked-up postal matter is nipped and conveyed by
the conveyance belts.
[0016] The postal matter picked up on the conveyance path 101 is
fed to the determination unit 102, and the determination unit 102
reads various kinds of information from the postal matter. Based on
the read various kinds of information, the determination unit 102
determines the conveyance posture, sorting destination, and the
like of the postal matter. In particular, the determination unit
102 determines a sorting destination by reading address information
such as a postal code and address written on the postal matter.
[0017] After passing through the determination unit 102, the
conveyance direction of the postal matter is distributed via a gate
G1. More specifically, a postal matter determined by the
determination unit 102 to be a postal matter to be rejected is
conveyed to the rejection unit 104 via the gate G1, and stacked on
the rejection unit. Other postal matters are conveyed to the
stacking unit 108 via the gate G1 and stacked inside the stacking
unit 108.
[0018] At this time, when the determination unit 102 determines
that the conveyance direction of a postal matter needs to be
reversed, the postal matter is fed to the switchback unit 106 via
the gate G1 and a gate G2 to reverse the conveyance direction. A
postal matter for which the conveyance direction need not be
reversed detours the switchback unit 106 via the gate G2 and is
conveyed to the stacking unit 108.
[0019] A postal matter fed to the stacking unit 108 via the
conveyance path 101 is sorted and stacked in a sorting stacking
pocket (not shown) in accordance with the result of determination
by the determination unit 102. Postal matters are sorted and
stacked in each sorting stacking pocket with their tops and bottoms
being aligned.
[0020] Next, the paper sheet pickup device 10 will be explained in
detail.
[0021] FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the pickup device 10. FIG. 3
is a perspective view showing the pickup device. As shown in FIGS.
2 and 3, the pickup device 10 includes an input portion (supply
portion) 24, supply mechanism 20, pickup mechanism 56, pickup
assist mechanism 30, separation portion 53, gap correction portion
55, and conveyance mechanism 58. At the input portion 24, a stack
of postal matters P is set while each postal matter stands almost
perpendicularly to the horizontal plane. The supply mechanism 20
moves a plurality of input postal matters P in the stacking
direction to supply the postal matter P at the leading end in a
moving direction F to a pickup position S. The pickup mechanism 56
feeds the postal matter P supplied to the pickup position S in the
plane direction of the postal matter P, in this case, a pickup
direction D almost perpendicular to the moving direction F, and
picks it up onto the conveyance path 101. The pickup assist
mechanism 30 is arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism 56 in the
pickup direction D, and assists pickup of the postal matter P. The
separation portion 53 separates, from the first postal matter P,
the second and subsequent postal matters P accompanying the postal
matter P picked up from the pickup position S. The gap correction
portion 55 corrects the gap between picked-up postal matters. The
conveyance mechanism 58 extracts, at a speed slightly higher than
the pickup speed, the postal matter P having passed through the gap
correction portion 55, and conveys it downstream.
[0022] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the input portion 24 includes a
flat bottom wall 24a, a side wall (guide wall) 24b which stands
almost perpendicularly, and a front wall 24c. A stack of postal
matters P is placed together on the bottom wall 24a while they
stand. One side edge of the postal matters P is guided by the side
wall 24b. A main belt 126 and a pair of sub-belts 125 are arranged
on the bottom wall 24a of the input portion 24. The main belt 126
contacts the lower end side of each postal matter P and feeds the
postal matter P in the stacking direction (direction indicated by
the arrow F in FIGS. 2 and 3). The sub-belts 125 adjust the posture
(tilt) of the postal matter P. The main belt 126 and sub-belts 125
can be driven independently. The main belt 126 extends along almost
the overall length of the input portion 24 in the feed direction F.
The sub-belts 125 are arranged on the two sides of the main belt
126 near the pickup position S.
[0023] A backup plate 9 is arranged at a position where it contacts
the surface of the postal matter P at the back end in the moving
direction among a plurality of postal matters P. The backup plate 9
is simply connected to, e.g., the main belt 126. The backup plate 9
moves in the moving direction F in synchronism with the main belt
126 to push the postal matters P toward the pickup position,
thereby supplying the postal matter P at the leading end in the
moving direction to the pickup position S. The main belt 126, the
sub-belts 125, the backup plate 9, and driving motors (not shown)
for driving the main belt and sub-belts function as the supply
mechanism 20.
[0024] A plurality of paper sheets P are supported by the backup
plate 9 and aligned along the side wall 24b on the main belt 126. A
sensor (not shown) detects the presence/absence of the paper sheet
P near the pickup position S. When the paper sheet P does not exist
near the pickup position S, the backup plate 9 and main belt 126
move toward the pickup position to supply the paper sheet P at the
leading end to the pickup position S.
[0025] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pickup mechanism 56 includes
an air chamber 52, a vacuum pump 61 (or equivalent) serving as an
air drawing source connected to the air chamber via a valve device
(not shown), an endless pickup belt 79 serving as a pickup member
which sucks and picks up the postal matter P, and a driving motor
81 which drives the pickup belt 79. A plurality of through holes
(suction holes) 84 are formed in the pickup belt 79. The pickup
belt 79 is wound and stretched around a plurality of pulleys 80 and
a driving pulley 83 so that at least a partial region of the pickup
belt 79 faces the postal matter P present at the pickup position S
and travels in the pickup direction D (pickup direction of the
postal matter P) along the pickup position S. The pickup belt 79
travels in a predetermined direction at a predetermined speed of,
e.g., 4 m/s by the driving motor 81.
[0026] The air chamber 52 is positioned on the rear surface side of
the pickup belt 79, i.e., on a side opposite to the postal matter P
so that the air chamber 52 is adjacent to and faces the postal
matter P. The vacuum pump 61 sets a negative or positive pressure
in the air chamber 52. When a negative pressure is set, the air
chamber 52 operates to suck and feed the postal matter P by the
pickup belt 79. When a positive pressure is set, the air chamber 52
operates to separate the postal matter from the pickup belt without
sucking the postal matter P. The vacuum pump 61 and air chamber 52
constitute an air drawing portion.
[0027] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the pickup assist mechanism 30
includes a sub-air chamber 60 arranged upstream of the pickup belt
79 in the pickup direction D, a negative pressure generator (blower
drawing side) 62 connected to the sub-air chamber, an endless
suction belt 64 which sucks and feeds the postal matter P, and a
driving motor (step motor) 66 which drives the suction belt 64. A
plurality of through holes (suction holes) 67 are formed in the
suction belt 64. The negative pressure generator 62 and sub-air
chamber 60 constitute an air drawing portion.
[0028] The sub-air chamber 60 has a front end opening which is open
to the input portion 24, and a guide plate 40 which covers the
front end opening. The guide plate 40 is formed into a rectangular
shape, and is arranged to be almost flush with the front wall 24c
of the input portion 24. A plurality of drawing holes 42 are formed
in the entire surface of the guide plate 40. The drawing holes 42
communicate with the inside of the sub-air chamber. The suction
belt 64 is wound and stretched around a plurality of pulleys 44 and
a driving pulley 45 so that at least a partial region of the
suction belt 64 is positioned to overlap part of the front surface
of the guide plate 40, faces the postal matter P in the input
portion 24, and travels in the pickup direction D (pickup direction
of the postal matter P) beside the pickup belt 79. The suction belt
64 is formed to have about 1/3 of the width of the pickup belt 79.
The suction belt 64 travels at a speed equal to or lower than 1/100
of the feed speed of the pickup belt 79, e.g., at 40 mm/s in the
pickup direction D by the driving motor 66.
[0029] The pickup assist mechanism 30 operates to draw the postal
matter P at a position spaced apart from the sub-air chamber 60 and
move it to the pickup position S. In addition, the pickup assist
mechanism 30 sucks and stops the second postal matter P after the
trailing end of the first postal matter P passes through the
sub-air chamber. As a result, the pickup assist mechanism 30
operates to prevent pickup of two postal matters P.
[0030] More specifically, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 4, when an
unaligned postal matter P1 is supplied and set at a position
(position on the upstream side of the pickup belt 79 in the pickup
direction D) where the postal matter P1 does not contact the pickup
belt 79, the pickup belt 79 of the pickup mechanism 56 cannot pick
up the postal matter P1. In this case, the pickup assist mechanism
30 sucks the postal matter P1 to the suction belt 64 by the sub-air
chamber 60, and drives the suction belt 64 in the pickup direction
D to feed the postal matter P1 to the pickup mechanism 56.
[0031] Accordingly, the pickup mechanism 56 can continuously
perform the pickup operation of the postal matter P1. At this time,
the traveling speed of the suction belt 64 is equal to or lower
than 1/100 of the feed speed of the pickup belt 79. After the
postal matter P1 is fed from the suction belt 64 onto the pickup
belt 79, it is drawn by the pickup belt 79 and easily separated
from the suction belt 64.
[0032] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 5, in a normal pickup operation,
after the first postal matter P at the pickup position S is fed in
the pickup direction D by the pickup belt 79, the sub-air chamber
60 of the pickup assist mechanism 30 draws a second postal matter
P2 through the drawing holes 42 of the guide plate 40 and the
through holes 67 of the suction belt 64 to pull the postal matter
P2 to the pickup position S, and in addition, sucks the postal
matter P2 to the guide plate 40 and suction belt 64. The suction
belt 64 travels at a feed speed much lower than that of the pickup
belt 79. Hence, the pickup assist mechanism 30 stops the postal
matter P2 to prevent simultaneous pickup of two postal matters
P.
[0033] The suction belt 64 projects toward the input portion 24
from the surface of the guide plate 40 by the thickness of the
suction belt 64. Part of the postal matter P2 is sucked to the
suction belt 64, and a portion off the suction belt 64 is sucked to
the guide plate 40, deforming the postal matter P2. As a result, a
gap is generated between the postal matter P2 and a next postal
matter (third postal matter) not sucked, making it easy to separate
the postal matter P2.
[0034] As shown in FIG. 2, the separation portion 53 of the pickup
device 10 includes a two-sheet pickup preventing block 31, and the
preventing block faces a conveyance belt 72 at a gap G. An
evacuation hole 28 is formed in the two-sheet pickup preventing
block 31, and connected to a negative pressure generation device
(vacuum pump) (not shown). When the pickup mechanism 56
simultaneously picks up two postal matters P, the two-sheet pickup
preventing block 31 sucks and stops the preventing block-side
postal matter not to simultaneously feed the two postal matters to
the gap correction portion 55.
[0035] The gap correction portion 55 includes a sponge roller 68
and drive roller 70 which are arranged to face each other via the
conveyance path. The sponge roller 68 is an elastic flexible
roller, and can deform by a change of the thickness of the postal
matter P. The drive roller 70 is directly driven by an AC servo
motor (not shown). The postal matter P picked up by the pickup
mechanism 56 is nipped between the sponge roller 68 and the drive
roller 70. Rotation of the drive roller 70 is
accelerated/decelerated in accordance with an instruction from a
controller (not shown) to change the conveyance speed of the postal
matter P and adjust the interval (gap) from a preceding postal
matter P. More specifically, when the interval (gap) from a
preceding postal matter P is smaller than a predetermined value,
the gap correction portion 55 decreases the conveyance speed of the
postal matter P to widen the interval (gap) from the preceding
postal matter. When the interval (gap) is larger than the
predetermined value, the gap correction portion 55 increases the
conveyance speed of the postal matter P to narrow the interval.
[0036] As shown in FIG. 2, the conveyance mechanism 58 includes the
endless conveyance belt 72, endless conveyance belts 74 and 75, and
driving motors (not shown) for driving the conveyance belts 74 and
75. The conveyance belt 72 is rotated by the power of the
conveyance belt 74 via a relay belt 76. The conveyance belts 72 and
74 are installed side by side along the conveyance path. The
conveyance belt 75 is installed to face the conveyance belts 72 and
74 via the conveyance path. The postal matter P picked up by the
pickup mechanism 56 is conveyed by the conveyance belt 72 and the
drive roller 70 of the gap correction portion 55. The postal matter
P is further nipped between the conveyance belts 74 and 75 and
conveyed by them. A roller 78 arranged at a portion where the
conveyance belt 75 faces the conveyance belt 72 is a spring tension
roller. When a thick postal matter P is conveyed to the conveyance
mechanism 58, it pushes the spring tension roller 78 and is fed to
the interval between the conveyance belts.
[0037] Note that a plurality of sensors 82 are arranged on the
conveyance path 101 to detect the passing postal matter P.
[0038] In the pickup device 10 having the above-described
arrangement, as shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum pump 61 is operated to
evacuate the inside of the air chamber 52 at a maximum drawing
force and set a negative pressure. Then, the negative pressure acts
on the postal matter P supplied to the pickup position S via the
large number of through holes 84 of the pickup belt 79 traveling in
the direction indicated by the arrow D, thereby sucking the postal
matter P to the surface of the pickup belt 79. The sucked postal
matter P is picked up from the pickup position S onto the
conveyance path 101 along with the travel of the pickup belt 79.
After the air chamber 52 is evacuated for a predetermined period to
pick up the postal matter P, the evacuation is stopped, and in
addition a positive pressure in the air chamber 52. Accordingly,
the suction of the postal matter P is canceled, and the postal
matter P is separated from the pickup belt 79. After the trailing
end of the first postal matter P passes through the sub-air chamber
60, the sub-air chamber 60 sucks the second postal matter to the
suction belt 64 and stops it to prevent pickup of two postal
matters. Further, the suction belt 64 sucks the postal matter P and
feeds it to the downstream side in the pickup direction D. By
repeating these operations in a predetermined cycle, the pickup
device 10 picks up one by one the postal matters P placed on the
input portion 24, and feeds them to the conveyance path 101.
[0039] The pickup mechanism 56 feeds the postal matters P at the
pickup position S one by one onto the conveyance path 101. When a
plurality of postal matters P are fed onto the conveyance path 101
while overlapping each other, the separation portion 53 separates
them one by one.
[0040] In the pickup device 10 of the postal matter processing
apparatus having the above-described arrangement, the pickup assist
mechanism 30 including the suction belt 64 and sub-air chamber 60
is arranged upstream of the pickup mechanism 56. Even when
unaligned postal matters are supplied, they can be successively
picked up. Also, pickup of two postal matters can be prevented by
the frictional force of the suction belt. Accordingly, a paper
sheet pickup device capable of stably picking up paper sheets at a
high speed is obtained.
[0041] In the embodiment, for example, a paper sheet to be
processed is not limited to a postal matter, and the present
invention is applicable to various paper sheets. The width and feed
speed of the suction belt are not limited to those in the
above-described embodiment, and various widths and feed speeds can
be selected.
[0042] While certain embodiments have been described, these
embodiments have been presented by way of example only, and are not
intended to limit the scope of the inventions. Indeed, the novel
embodiments described herein may be embodied in a variety of other
forms; furthermore, various omissions, substitutions and changes in
the form of the embodiments described herein may be made without
departing from the spirit of the inventions. The accompanying
claims and their equivalents are intended to cover such forms or
modifications as would fall within the scope and spirit of the
inventions.
* * * * *