Device and method for taking out sheets

• US 7,628,393 B2
• Filed: 03/22/2007
• Issued: 12/08/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 03/24/2006
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Original Assignee: Kabushiki Kaisha Toshiba (Toshiba Corporation)
• Inventors: Watanabe, Tetsuo, Mitsuya, Yusuke, Hiramitsu, Naruaki
• Primary Examiner(s): Bollinger; David H
• Application Number:
  US11/723,839
• Publication Number:
  US 20070222137A1
• Time in Patent Office: 992 Days
• Field of Search: 271/10.01, 271/10.09, 271/10.11, 271/122, 271/125
• US Class Current: 271/10.01
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2220/02 indicating an entity which is controlled, adjusted or changed by a control process, i.e. output
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2301/321 Standing on edge
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2515/34 Pressure, e.g. fluid pressure
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 2701/1916 Envelopes and articles of mail
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/0653 for separating substantially vertically stacked articles
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/124 Suction bands or belts
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 3/5246 Driven retainers, i.e. the motion thereof being provided by a dedicated drive

Abstract

A sheet takeout device includes a takeout belt brought into contact with a sheet set in a takeout position to generate negative pressure to adsorb the sheet, and traveled in a direction of an arrow T, and a separation roller which separates second and following sheets associatively taken out with the sheet. Triggered by detection of its leading end at a second sensor, an opposite-direction separation force is applied to the sheet to be conveyed via the separation roller.

Claims

1. A sheet takeout device comprising:

a takeout section rotated in contact with a sheet to take out the sheet in a surface direction;

a conveying section, that is configured to hold the sheet taken out by the takeout section and to further convey the sheet;

a detection section which detects the holding of the sheet taken out by the takeout section in the conveying section; and

a separation section, that includes a separation roller, and is disposed on a side opposite to the takeout section across a conveying path between the takeout section and the conveying section, the separation section configured to apply an opposite-direction separation force to second and following sheets associatively taken out by the sheet taken out by the takeout section, after the sheet taken out by the takeout section is transferred to the conveying section.

2. The device according to claim 1,

wherein the separation roller is rotated in a forward direction until the sheet taken out by the takeout section is transferred to the conveying section.

3. The device according to claim 2,

wherein the separation roller is rotated in the forward direction at a speed substantially equal to that of the takeout section in a standby state, and the speed is gradually reduced until the taken-out sheet is transferred to the conveying section.

4. The device according to claim 2,

wherein the separation roller is rotated again in the forward direction, after a gap between the sheet transferred to the conveying section and a subsequent sheet is detected.

5. The device according to claim 1, further comprising a driving section which applies a driving force for generating the separation force to the separation section, wherein the separation force applied by the separation roller is set to a force weaker than a conveying force of the conveying section.

6. The device according to claim 2,

wherein a rotational speed at which the separation roller is rotated in the forward direction is set to a speed not exceeding a conveying speed of the conveying section.

7. The device according to claim 1, further comprising:

a driving section which applies a driving force for generating the separation force to the separation section; and

a control section which controls the driving section to change the driving force in accordance with an operation state of the separation section.

8. the device according to claim 7,

wherein the control section monitors a rotational speed of the separation roller, and controls the driving section to prevent the rotational speed from exceeding a certain speed.

9. The device according to claim 7,

wherein the control section monitors rotational torque of the separation roller, and controls the driving section to prevent the rotational torque from exceeding certain torque.

10. The device according to claim 7,

wherein the control section monitors the rotational speed and the rotational torque of the separation roller and controls the driving section to prevent the rotational speed and the rotation torque from exceeding a certain rotational speed and certain rotational torque.

11. A sheet takeout device comprising:

an insertion section which inserts a plurality of sheets in a stacked manner;

a feed section which moves the sheets inserted via the insertion section in a stacking direction to feed a leading-end sheet of a moving direction to feed the sheet to a takeout position;

a takeout section brought into contact with the sheet fed to the takeout position by the feed section, and rotated in a first direction substantially orthogonal to the stacking direction to take out the sheet in the first direction;

a conveying section which receives the sheet taken out by the takeout section on a downstream side of the first direction of the takeout section, and holds the sheet to further convey the sheet in the first direction;

a separation section, that includes a separation roller, and is configured to apply a separation force of a second direction reverse to the first direction to the sheet taken out in the first direction by the takeout section from a side opposite to the side contacted by the takeout section to separate second and following sheets associatively taken out with the sheet;

a detection section which detects the holding of the sheet taken out by the takeout section in the conveying section; and

a control section which controls the separation section to apply the separation force after the detection section detects the holding of the sheet taken out by the takeout section in the conveying section.

12. The device according to claim 11,

wherein the control section rotates the separation roller in the first direction until the detection section detects the holding of the sheet taken out by the takeout section in the conveying section.

13. The device according to claim 12,

wherein the control section rotates the separation roller in the first direction at a speed substantially equal to that of the takeout section in a standby state before the takeout section takes out the sheet and gradually reduces a rotational speed of the separation roller until the detection section detects the holding of the sheet taken out by the takeout section in the conveying section.

14. The device according to claim 12, further comprising:

a gap detection section which detects passage, in the first direction, of a tail end of the sheet transferred to the conveying section to be conveyed on a downstream side of the separation roller of the first direction, and a gap between the sheet and a subsequent sheet,

wherein the control section rotates the separation roller again in the first direction when the gap detection section detects the gap while the separation force is applied via the separation section.

15. The device according to claim 11, further comprising a driving section which applies a driving force for generating the separation force to the separation section, wherein the separation force applied by the separation roller is set to a force weaker than a conveying force of the conveying section.

16. The device according to claim 12,

wherein the rotational speed of the separation roller in the first direction is set to a speed not exceeding a conveying speed of the conveying section.

17. The device according to claim 11,

wherein the separation roller has a peripheral surface made of a rigid body, and includes an adsorption roller rotated while negative pressure is generated in the peripheral surface to adsorb the sheet.

18. The device according to claim 11, further comprising:

a driving section which applies a driving force for generating the separation force to the separation section,

wherein the control section monitors an operation state of the separation section while, the separation force is applied via the separation section, and controls the driving section to change the driving force for driving the separation section in accordance with the operation state.

19. The device according to claim 18,

wherein the control section monitors a rotational speed of the separation roller, and controls the driving section to prevent the rotational speed from exceeding a certain speed.

20. The device according to claim 18,

wherein the control section monitors rotational torque of the separation roller, and controls the driving section to prevent the rotational torque from exceeding certain torque.

21. The device according to claim 18,

wherein the control section monitors a rotational speed and rotational torque of the separation roller and controls the driving section to prevent the rotational speed and the rotational torque from exceeding a certain speed and certain torque.

22. A sheet takeout method comprising:

taking out stacked sheets one by one to a conveying path;

holding the sheets taken out to the conveying path to further convey the sheets; and

separating sheets by applying an opposite-direction separation force to second and following sheets associatively taken out, after the sheet taken out is transferred to the conveying path.

23. The method according to claim 22,

wherein the separation force applied to the second and following sheets is set to a force weaker than a conveying force of the sheets during conveying of the sheets.

24. The method according to claim 22,

wherein during the separating of the sheets, a separation roller is brought into contact with the second and following sheets to apply the separation force, and a driving force is variably controlled to prevent a rotational speed of the separation roller from exceeding a certain speed.

25. The method according to claim 22,

wherein during the separating of the sheets, a separation roller is brought into contact with the second and following sheets to apply the separation force, and a driving force is variably controlled to prevent rotational torque of the separation roller from exceeding certain torque.

26. The method according to claim 22,

wherein during the separating of the sheets, a separation roller is brought into contact with the second and following sheet to apply the separation force, and a driving force is variably controlled to prevent a rotational speed and rotation torque of the separation roller from exceeding a certain speed and certain torque.