Paper inspection device

Abstract

To provide a paper inspection device capable of inspecting an abnormality such as folding of paper or intrusion of a foreign matter.SOLUTION: A paper inspection device 100 comprises: an inspection unit 290 including an attachment member 252a, a lower roller 296 rotatably attached to the attachment member 252a, a moving part 270 attached to the attachment member 252a, capable of moving in a vertical direction, and an upper roller 279 rotatably attached to the moving part 270, disposed opposite to the lower roller 296 above the lower roller 296; a conveyance unit 250 that passes the paper from upstream to downstream between the lower roller 296 and the upper roller 279; a position detection unit 280 that detects a vertical position of the moving part 270 with respect to the attachment member 252a; and an abnormality determination unit 43c that detects the abnormality of the paper by a detection signal from the position detection unit 280 when the paper passes between the lower roller 296 and the upper roller 279.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a paper inspection device that inspects paper such as booklets and pamphlets. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, there has been a booklet inspection device that inspects for missing booklets, as shown in Patent Document 1. This booklet inspection device inspects for missing booklets by using a booklet displacement sensor that measures the thickness of a booklet bound by a case binder, a second booklet bundle displacement sensor that measures the thickness of a booklet bundle discharged by a booklet stacking device, and a first booklet bundle displacement sensor that measures the thickness of a booklet bundle discharged from a three-edge trimmer, and by comparing the thickness of the booklet bundle with the total thickness of the booklets included in the booklet bundle. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6236961 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, although the booklet inspection device disclosed in Patent Document 1 can inspect whether a booklet has fallen off, it cannot inspect paper products such as booklets and pamphlets for abnormalities such as creases or the presence of foreign matter.

[0005] The present invention aims to provide a paper inspection device that can inspect paper for abnormalities such as creases and the presence of foreign matter. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the paper inspection device according to the invention described in claim 1 is: a mounting member (252); a lower roller (296) rotatably mounted on said mounting member; a moving part (270) attached to the attachment member so as to be movable in the up and down direction; an upper roller (279) rotatably attached to the moving part and arranged above the lower roller and facing the lower roller; a position detection unit (280) that detects the vertical position of the moving unit relative to the mounting member; An inspection unit (290) equipped with a conveying section (250) for passing paper between the lower roller and the upper roller from the upstream side to the downstream side; The device is characterized by having an abnormality judgment unit (43c) that detects abnormalities in the paper based on a detection signal from the position detection unit when the paper passes between the lower roller and the upper roller.

[0007] With this, when folded or contaminated paper passes between the lower and upper rollers, the detection signal from the position detector will have a different value from that of normal paper, making it possible to detect abnormalities in the paper. This makes it possible to provide a paper inspection device that can detect abnormalities in paper.

[0008] The invention described in claim 2 is the invention described in claim 1, A motor (209) that generates driving force; The device further comprises a driving force transmission unit (260) that transmits the driving force of the motor to the upper roller.

[0009] In this way, because the upper roller is driven, the upper roller is prevented from lifting up when paper enters between the upper and lower rollers, compared to when the upper roller is not driven, which makes it possible to prevent erroneous detection in which normal paper is determined to be abnormal due to the upper roller lifting up.

[0010] The invention described in claim 3 is the invention described in claim 2, The driving force transmission unit includes: a first rotary pulley (261) to which the driving force of the motor is transmitted; a second rotary pulley (262) disposed above the first rotary pulley and downstream of the first rotary pulley; a third rotary pulley (263) disposed above the second rotary pulley and upstream of the second rotary pulley; a fourth rotary pulley (264) disposed above the third rotary pulley and downstream of the third rotary pulley, and rotatably connected to the upper roller; a fifth rotary pulley (265) and a sixth rotary pulley (266) arranged side by side in the upstream and downstream direction above the fourth rotary pulley; and a rotary belt (269) wound around the first rotary pulley to the sixth rotary pulley.

[0011] This allows the driving force of the motor to be reliably transmitted to the upper roller that moves up and down.

[0012] The invention described in claim 4 is the invention described in claim 3, The driving force transmission unit further includes a tensioner (267) that presses the rotating belt from the outside.

[0013] With this, even if the fourth rotary pulley moves up and down in accordance with the vertical movement of the upper roller, the rotary belt does not slacken and the tension of the rotary belt can be maintained.

[0014] The invention described in claim 5 is the invention described in claims 1 to 4, The moving part is characterized in that it is biased downward by a biasing member (276).

[0015] With this, the upper roller attached to the moving part is biased downward, so when the paper passes between the upper and lower rollers, the upper roller, which can move up and down, is pressed against the paper and follows it, making it possible to accurately detect the thickness of the paper and, ultimately, to detect any abnormalities in the paper with greater precision.

[0016] It is preferable that the diameter of the upper roller is set larger than the diameter of the lower roller.

[0017] With this, while the space for installing the upper and lower rollers is limited, by making the diameter of the upper roller as large as possible, it is possible to reduce the angle between the paper and the upper roller when the paper enters between the upper and lower rollers. This prevents the upper roller from lifting up when the paper enters between the upper and lower rollers. This allows for highly accurate detection of folds in the paper.

[0018] The invention described in claim 6 is the invention described in claim 1, The conveying unit is a rotating lower conveyor belt (236); a rotating upper conveyor belt (246) disposed above and facing the lower conveyor belt; The paper conveying device is characterized in that it is configured to convey the paper between the lower conveying belt and the upper conveying belt.

[0019] According to this, the paper is sandwiched between the lower conveying belt and the upper conveying belt and transported from the upstream side to the downstream side, so that the paper can be transported stably, and ultimately, folds in the paper can be detected stably.

[0020] The invention described in claim 7 is the invention described in claim 6, The inspection units are arranged on both sides of the lower conveyor belt and the upper conveyor belt.

[0021] This allows the inspection unit to inspect both widthwise ends of the paper, where creases are likely to occur, and makes it possible to more reliably detect creases in the paper.

[0022] The invention described in claim 8 is the invention described in claim 7, The inspection unit is characterized in that it is provided so as to be movable in a width direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is transported.

[0023] This allows the inspection unit to inspect both widthwise ends of the paper even if the paper has different widths.

[0024] The invention described in claim 9 is the invention described in claim 6, The lower conveying belt is wound around a rotatably provided downstream lower pulley (231) and an upstream lower pulley (235) rotatably provided upstream of the downstream lower pulley in the conveying direction of the paper products, The upper conveying belt is wound around a downstream upper pulley (241) and an upstream upper pulley (245) disposed upstream of the downstream upper pulley in the conveying direction of the paper products, the downstream upper pulley and the upstream upper pulley are rotatably mounted by an upper support member (242); The upper support member is characterized in that it is provided rotatable about the same rotation center as the rotation center of the downstream upper pulley.

[0025] With this, even if the thickness of the paper is different, the separation distance between the upstream upper pulley and the upstream lower pulley is adjusted by rotating the upper support member, and the paper enters between the upstream upper pulley and the upstream lower pulley, and is transported by the lower conveyor belt and the upper conveyor belt. Therefore, it is possible to provide a paper inspection device that can detect abnormalities in paper even if the thickness is different.

[0026] The invention described in claim 10 is the invention described in claim 9, The apparatus further comprises a pulley adjustment mechanism (249) for adjusting the rotation angle of the upper support member.

[0027] With this, by adjusting the rotation angle of the upper support member with the pulley adjustment mechanism, the separation distance between the upstream lower pulley and the upstream upper pulley can be adjusted according to the thickness of the paper, thereby providing a paper inspection device that can handle paper of different thicknesses.

[0028] The invention described in claim 11 is the invention described in claim 1, The device further comprises a height adjustment unit (299) for adjusting the vertical position of the moving unit.

[0029] With this, even if the thickness of the paper varies depending on the specifications, abnormalities in the paper can be properly detected by adjusting the vertical position of the moving part using the height adjustment part, thereby adjusting the distance between the outer surface of the upper roller and the outer surface of the lower roller.

[0030] The invention described in claim 12 is the invention described in claim 11, The height adjustment unit includes a pair of side frames (298) attached to the attachment member with a gap therebetween; A plate-shaped caliper frame (227) attached so as to connect the upper end of the side frame; a first link arm (283) disposed between the pair of side frames, rotatably attached to the pair of side frames, one end of which is in contact with the moving part; The device is characterized in that when the paper is inserted between the first link arm and the caliper frame, the first link arm rotates and the moving part moves upward.

[0031] With this, simply inserting paper between the first link arm and the caliper frame moves the moving part upward, and the upper roller also moves upward accordingly. Therefore, even when inspecting folds in paper of different thicknesses depending on the specifications, the distance between the outer periphery of the upper roller and the outer periphery of the lower roller can be appropriately adjusted, making it possible to properly detect any abnormalities in the paper.

[0032] The invention described in claim 13 is the invention described in claim 12, The height adjustment unit is a plate-shaped caliper lever (228) provided between the pair of side frames and between the first link arm and the caliper frame so as to be movable in the vertical direction; a second link arm (284) rotatably mounted on the pair of side frames and parallel to the first link arm, between the pair of side frames and below the first link arm; a first slider (285) that is block-shaped and pin-supported at the base ends of the first link arm and the second link arm; a second slider (286) that is block-shaped and rotatably attached to the tip of the first link arm, the upper surface of which is in surface contact with the lower surface of the caliper lever; the first slider abuts against the mounting member and the moving portion, When inspecting the paper for creases, the paper is inserted between the caliper lever and the caliper frame.

[0033] With this, when inspecting paper, the underside of the paper does not come into direct contact with the first link arm, but rather comes into surface contact with the plate-shaped caliper lever, so the moving part can be moved upward with high precision by the thickness of the paper. Furthermore, since the underside of the caliper lever does not come into direct contact with the tip of the first link arm, but rather comes into surface contact via the second slider, the moving part can be moved upward with high precision by the thickness of the paper. Furthermore, because the second link arm is provided parallel to the first link arm, the first slider, which is pin-supported by the first link arm and the second link arm, does not tilt regardless of the rotation angle of the first link arm. In this way, because the first slider, which is in contact with the mounting member and the moving part, does not tilt, the moving part can be moved upward by the thickness of the paper with high precision.

[0034] The invention described in claim 14 is the invention described in claim 13, The upper surface of the first slider is in contact with the moving portion via a first adjustment bolt (292) that is screwed into the moving portion and whose axial direction coincides with the up-down direction.

[0035] By adjusting the amount of screwing of the first adjustment bolt into the moving part, the vertical position of the moving part can be changed, and the vertical position of the upper roller can be changed. Therefore, when detecting creases in paper, the distance between the upper roller and the lower roller can be set to an optimal distance for detecting creases. As a result, abnormalities in paper can be detected with higher accuracy.

[0036] The invention described in claim 15 is the invention described in claim 13, The lower surface of the first slider is in contact with the mounting member via a second adjustment bolt (293) that is screwed into the mounting member and whose axial direction coincides with the vertical direction.

[0037] According to this, by adjusting the amount by which the second adjustment bolt is screwed into the mounting member, the vertical position of the moving part can be changed, and the vertical position of the upper roller can be changed. Therefore, by adjusting the amount by which the second adjustment bolt is screwed into the mounting member, the separation distance between the upper roller and the lower roller can be adjusted. As a result, when no paper is passing between the upper and lower rollers, the upper roller can be spaced slightly further apart than the lower roller, and wear on the upper and lower rollers due to contact between the upper roller and the lower roller can be reduced.

[0038] Note that the symbols in parentheses for each means described in this column and in the claims are merely examples showing the correspondence with the specific means described in the embodiments described below, and do not affect the scope of rights of the claims. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0039] [Figure 1] 1 is a perspective view of a paper inspection device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 2] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of an inspection unit. [Figure 3] 3 is a view taken along an arrow A in FIG. 2, and is a rear view of the inspection unit. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the inspection unit with the inspection section removed. [Figure 5] 5 is a view taken along the arrow B in FIG. 4, and is a front view of the inspection unit with the inspection section removed. [Figure 6] 5 is a view taken along the arrow C in FIG. 4, and is a side view of the inspection unit with the inspection section removed. [Figure 7] FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line DD in FIG. 5. [Figure 8] FIG. [Figure 9] 9 is a view taken along the arrow E in FIG. 8, and is a side view of the inspection unit as seen from the outside. [Figure 10] 9 is a view taken along the arrow F in FIG. 8, and is a front view of the inspection unit. [Figure 11]9 is a view taken along arrow G in FIG. 8, and is a side view of the inspection unit as seen from the inside. [Figure 12] 10 is a view taken along the arrow H in FIG. 9, and is a front view of the height adjustment unit and the moving part. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a paper inspection device. [Figure 14] FIG. 10 is a diagram showing thickness information of paper. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0040] (Structure of paper inspection device) A paper inspection device 1000 according to one embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to Fig. 1. As shown in Fig. 1, the paper inspection device 1000 includes, in order from upstream to downstream, a conveyor unit 100, an inspection unit 200, and a sorting unit 300.

[0041] The conveyor unit 100 has a belt conveyor 110 along which papers sequentially supplied from a feeder device (not shown) are conveyed at regular intervals. In this specification, papers include booklets made by folding paper as well as booklets made by binding bundles of printed materials. A folding device (not shown) that folds paper is disposed upstream of the feeder device, and in some cases, a binding device (not shown) that binds the paper folded by the folding device into a booklet is also disposed.

[0042] The inspection unit 200 measures the thickness of the paper sheets supplied from the belt conveyor 110 and detects any abnormalities such as bent edges of the paper sheets, foreign matter adhering to the paper sheets, or paper sheets falling off. Details of the inspection unit 200 will be described later.

[0043] The sorting unit 300 has an actuator 320 (shown in FIG. 13), and when the inspection unit 200 detects an abnormality in a paper product, the actuator 320 is activated to sort the paper product detected as abnormal into a collection box 310. Normal paper products are stored as they are in a downstream paper storage section.

[0044] The inspection unit 200 will be described below with reference to Figs. 2 to 12. As shown in Fig. 2, the inspection unit 200 includes a transport section 250 and a pair of inspection sections 290. The transport section 250 transports the papers supplied from the conveyor unit 100 in order from upstream to downstream at regular intervals. The inspection sections 290 are arranged on both sides of the transport section 250 in the width direction.

[0045] As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the inspection unit 200 includes a pair of support plates 201 arranged opposite to each other. The support plates 201 extend in a direction coinciding with a plane including the up-down direction and the upstream-downstream direction. As shown in FIG. 4, the pair of support plates 201 are connected by a plurality of rod-shaped connecting members 202, 203 arranged in a direction in which the longitudinal direction coincides with the width direction. In this embodiment, the lower ends of the pair of support plates 201 are connected by two connecting members 202 arranged adjacent to each other in the upstream-downstream direction, and the upper ends of the pair of support plates 201 are connected by one connecting member 203. Support legs 205 extending downward are attached to both ends of each of the two connecting members 202 arranged adjacent to each other in the upstream-downstream direction.

[0046] A motor 209 is attached to one side of the support plate 201. As shown in Figure 5, a drive pulley 210 is attached to the rotation shaft of the motor 209.

[0047] The conveying section 250 will be described below with reference to Figures 4 to 6. As shown in Figures 4 to 6, a first shaft 211 to a third shaft 213 extending in the width direction are attached between a pair of support plates 201.

[0048] The first shaft 211 is rotatably attached to the vertical middle of the support plate 201 via a bracket 217. As shown in FIG. 5, a driven pulley 219 is attached to the end of the first shaft 211 on the side where the motor 209 is located. A motor drive belt 220 is wound around the drive pulley 210 and the driven pulley 219. The diameters of the drive pulley 210 and the driven pulley 219 at the portions around which the motor drive belt 220 is wound are the same, so the first shaft 211 rotates at the same rotation speed as the motor 209. A first pulley 221 is attached to the end of the first shaft 211 opposite to the end where the driven pulley 219 is attached.

[0049] A second shaft 212 is rotatably attached to the support plate 201 above and downstream of the first shaft 211 via a bracket 217. A second pulley 222 is attached to the end of the second shaft 212.

[0050] A third shaft 213 is rotatably attached to the support plate 201 above and slightly downstream of the second shaft 212 via a bracket 217. A third pulley 223 is attached to the end of the third shaft 213.

[0051] A fourth pulley 224 is rotatably attached to the support plate 201 above and slightly upstream of the first pulley 221 via a slide bracket 218. Two elongated holes 201a are formed in the support plate 201, with the longitudinal direction being the upstream / downstream direction. The slide bracket 218 is plate-shaped and is disposed on the back side (inside) of the support plate 201. Two bolts 218a are attached to the support plate 201, each inserted into the elongated holes 201a. A nut 216 is fastened to each of the two bolts 218a. When the nut 216 is loosened, the slide bracket 218 and fourth pulley 224 become movable in the upstream / downstream direction. With this structure, the position of the fourth pulley 224 in the upstream / downstream direction can be adjusted.

[0052] A fifth pulley 225 is rotatably attached to the support plate 201 above and slightly downstream of the fourth pulley 224. A sixth pulley 226 is rotatably attached to the support plate 201 below and slightly upstream of the second pulley 222.

[0053] Teeth that mesh with a double toothed belt 229, which will be described later, are formed on the first pulley 221 to the sixth pulley 226. The double toothed belt 229 is wound around the first pulley 221, the fourth pulley 224, the fifth pulley 225, the third pulley 223, the second pulley 222, and the sixth pulley 226. Teeth that mesh with the first pulley 221 to the sixth pulley 226 are formed on both the front and back surfaces of the double toothed belt 229.

[0054] The first pulley 221 engages with the teeth on the back side of the dual-toothed belt 229. The second pulley 222 engages with the teeth on the front side of the dual-toothed belt 229. The third pulley 223 engages with the teeth on the back side of the dual-toothed belt 229. The fourth pulley 224 engages with the teeth on the front side of the dual-toothed belt 229. The fifth pulley 225 engages with the teeth on the back side of the dual-toothed belt 229. The sixth pulley 226 engages with the teeth on the back side of the dual-toothed belt 229. In this way, since the second pulley 222 engages with the teeth on the front side of the dual-toothed belt 229 while the third pulley 223 engages with the teeth on the back side of the dual-toothed belt 229, the third shaft 213 rotates in the opposite direction to the second shaft 212.

[0055] With this structure, when the motor 209 rotates, the first shaft 211 rotates, the second shaft 212 rotates in the opposite direction to the first shaft 211 , and the third shaft 213 rotates in the same direction as the first shaft 211 .

[0056] As shown in FIG. 5, two downstream lower pulleys 231 are attached to the middle of the second shaft 212, lined up in the axial direction. The downstream end of a plate-shaped lower support member 232, whose longitudinal direction is the upstream-downstream direction, is attached to the second shaft 212 between the two downstream lower pulleys 231. As shown in FIG. 6, an upstream support shaft 233, whose longitudinal direction is the width direction, is disposed between the upstream ends of a pair of support plates 201, and both ends of this upstream support shaft 233 are attached to the pair of support plates 201, respectively. As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7, a support member 234 extending upward from the upstream support shaft 233 is attached to the middle of the upstream support shaft 233. The rear portion of the lower support member 232 is placed on and supported by the upper end of the support member 234.

[0057] As shown in Figures 4, 6, and 7, upstream lower pulleys 235 are rotatably attached to both sides of the upstream end of the lower support member 232. The pair of downstream lower pulleys 231 and the pair of upstream lower pulleys 235 are positioned in the same width direction. A lower conveyor belt 236 is wound around each of the pair of downstream lower pulleys 231 and the pair of upstream lower pulleys 235.

[0058] As shown in FIG. 5, two downstream upper pulleys 241 are attached to the middle of the third shaft 213, lined up in the axial direction. As shown in FIG. 7, the downstream end of a plate-shaped upper support member 242, whose longitudinal direction is the upstream-downstream direction, is rotatably attached to the third shaft 213 between the two downstream upper pulleys 241. Upstream upper pulleys 245 are rotatably attached to both sides of the upstream end of the upper support member 242. The pair of downstream upper pulleys 241 and the pair of upstream upper pulleys 245 are positioned in the same width direction. An upper conveyor belt 246 is wound around each of the pair of downstream upper pulleys 241 and the pair of upstream upper pulleys 245.

[0059] 7, the downstream upper pulley 241 is disposed downstream of the downstream lower pulley 231. In this way, the downstream upper pulley 241 is disposed downstream of the downstream lower pulley 231, and is disposed at a position offset in the upstream-downstream direction, so that even papers of different thicknesses can come into contact with the downstream upper pulley 241 and the downstream lower pulley 231 and pass between the downstream upper pulley 241 and the downstream lower pulley 231. The upstream upper pulley 245 is disposed downstream of the upstream lower pulley 235.

[0060] 4 and 5, the connecting member 203 is provided with a pulley adjustment mechanism 249 for adjusting the distance between the upstream lower pulley 235 and the upstream upper pulley 245. As shown in FIG. 7, the pulley adjustment mechanism 249 has a support member 247, an adjustment bolt 248, and a pressed member 239.

[0061] As shown in Fig. 7, the support member 247 is a member having an L-shaped cross section, and is attached to the middle portion in the width direction of the uppermost connecting member 203 by a plurality of bolts 237 (shown in Fig. 5). As shown in Fig. 7, the pressed member 239 is a member having an L-shaped cross section, and is attached to the tip of the upper support member 242 by a plurality of bolts 238. A first portion 247a, which is the bent portion of the support member 247, and a second portion 239a, which is the bent portion of the pressed member 239, face each other.

[0062] An adjustment bolt 248 is screwed into the first portion 247a. The tip of the adjustment bolt 248 abuts against the second portion 239a. By adjusting the amount that the adjustment bolt 248 is screwed into the first portion 247a, it is possible to adjust the rotation angle around the third shaft 213 of the upper support member 242 as the rotation center. This makes it possible to adjust the distance between the upstream upper pulley 245 and the upstream lower pulley 235 depending on the thickness of the paper.

[0063] When the motor 209 rotates, the driving force of the motor 209 is transmitted to the first shaft 211 via the drive pulley 210, the motor drive belt 220, and the driven pulley 219, causing the first shaft 211 to rotate, and the first pulley 221 to rotate. This causes the double-toothed belt 229 to rotate, causing the second pulley 222 and the third pulley 223 to rotate, and causing the lower conveyor belt 236 and the upper conveyor belt 246 to rotate. In this way, papers sequentially supplied from the conveyor unit 100 are conveyed between the lower conveyor belt 236 and the upper conveyor belt 246 from the upstream side to the downstream side at a fixed interval.

[0064] The inspection unit 290 will be described below with reference to Fig. 2 and Fig. 8 to Fig. 12. As shown in Fig. 2 and Fig. 6, a downstream support shaft 243 having its longitudinal direction in the width direction is disposed between the downstream ends of a pair of support plates 201, and both ends of this downstream support shaft 243 are attached to the pair of support plates 201, respectively. As shown in Fig. 6, the upstream support shaft 233 and the downstream support shaft 243 are disposed at the same position in the up-down direction.

[0065] As shown in FIGS. 2 and 8, the inspection unit 290 has a mounting member 252 and two sliding support members 251. The mounting member 252 is a member that is long in the up-down direction. The mounting member 252 has a mounting plate 252a, two side plates 252b, and a top plate 252c. The mounting plate 252a is a rectangular plate that is long in the up-down direction. The side plates 252b are also rectangular plate that are long in the up-down direction, and are attached to the edges of the mounting plate 252a at the upstream and downstream ends, respectively, and extend outward in the width direction from the mounting plate 252a so as to be perpendicular to the extension direction of the mounting plate 252a. The top plate 252c is attached to the upper ends of the mounting plate 252a and the side plate 251b, extends in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the mounting plate 252a and the side plate 251b, extends perpendicular to the extension direction of the mounting plate 252a, and extends outside the width direction of the mounting plate 252a.

[0066] Two sliding support members 251 are attached to the lower portions of the side plates 252b of the mounting member 252, aligned in the upstream and downstream directions. The sliding support members 251 are formed with communication holes 251a that communicate in the width direction. The upstream support shaft 233 and the downstream support shaft 243 are inserted into the communication holes 251a of the two sliding support members 251, respectively. With this configuration, the pair of inspection parts 290 are attached to the inspection unit 200 so as to be movable in the width direction. In this embodiment, the sliding support members 251 are ball splines. This allows the pair of inspection parts 290 to slide smoothly in the width direction.

[0067] A locking member 253 is attached to each sliding support member 251. As shown in FIG. 11, the locking member 253 is composed of a shaft member 253a, a lever portion 253b, and a pressing member 253c. The shaft member 253a is rod-shaped and is screwed into a threaded hole formed in the sliding support member 251. The shaft member 253a extends in a direction perpendicular to the extension direction of the upstream support shaft 233 and the downstream support shaft 243. A pressing member 253c is attached to the tip of the shaft member 253a so as to be rotatable relative to the shaft member 253a. The pressing member 253c has a shape corresponding to the shape of the outer peripheral surfaces of the upstream support shaft 233 and the downstream support shaft 243, and is formed with a pressing surface 253c1 that abuts against the outer peripheral surfaces of the upstream support shaft 233 and the downstream support shaft 243. A lever portion 253b is attached to the base end of the shaft member 253a. By rotating the lever portion 253b, the pressing surface 253c1 of the pressing member 253c presses or moves away from the outer circumferential surfaces of the upstream support shaft 233 and the downstream support shaft 243. With this structure, the operator can position the pair of inspection parts 290 at a desired position in the width direction, and then fix the pair of inspection parts 290 at the desired position by rotating the lever portion 253b.

[0068] 11, a lower roller 296 is rotatably attached to the inside of the mounting plate 252a at the vertically intermediate portion. A moving unit 270 is attached to the mounting plate 252a above the lower roller 296 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. The moving unit 270 will be described in detail below.

[0069] The moving part 270 has a pair of shafts 271, an upper plate 272, a lower plate 273, a pair of support plates 274, an upper roller 279, a first adjustment bolt 292 (shown in FIG. 12), and a nut 294 (shown in FIG. 12).

[0070] The pair of shafts 271 are arranged with a gap between them in the upstream / downstream direction, with their axial directions aligned with the vertical direction. The upper ends of the pair of shafts 271 are connected by an upper plate 272. The lower ends of the pair of shafts 271 are connected by a lower plate 273. A pair of sliding support members 297 are attached to the upper inside part of the mounting plate 252a with a gap between them in the upstream / downstream direction. Each of the pair of shafts 271 is supported by the pair of sliding support members 297 so as to be slidable in the vertical direction. In this embodiment, the sliding support members 297 are linear guides. With this configuration, the moving part 270 is attached to the mounting plate 252a so as to be movable in the vertical direction.

[0071] A pair of support plates 274 are attached to the lower surface of the lower plate 273 with a gap in the width direction. The upper roller 279 is disposed between the pair of support plates 274 and is rotatably attached to the pair of support plates 274. The upper roller 279 is disposed above the lower roller 296 and faces the lower roller 296. The upper roller 279 is capable of coming into contact with or separating from the lower roller 296.

[0072] A plate-shaped support member 278 is attached to the upper inside of the mounting plate 252a. A shaft 277 having a screw thread formed on its outer periphery is attached to the upper surface of the support member 278. The axial direction of the shaft 277 coincides with the vertical direction. An insertion hole 272a is formed in the upper plate 272. The shaft 277 is inserted into this insertion hole 272a and protrudes upward from the upper surface of the upper plate 272. A biasing member 276 is disposed in a compressed state on the outer periphery of the portion of the shaft 277 protruding upward from the upper surface of the upper plate 272, and a nut 275 is screwed onto the upper end of the shaft 277. In this embodiment, the biasing member 276 is a coil spring. A slot 275a (shown in FIG. 8) is formed in the nut 275, which communicates from its outer periphery to the screw hole. A screw hole (not shown) that crosses the slot 275a is formed in the nut 275, and a fastening bolt 275b (shown in FIGS. 8 and 10) is screwed into this screw hole. This structure prevents the nut 275 from loosening from the shaft 277.

[0073] With the above-described configuration, the moving part 270 is urged downward by the urging member 276, and the upper roller 279 is also urged downward to press the lower roller 296. The amount of urging of the urging member 276 can be adjusted by adjusting the amount by which the nut 275 is screwed onto the shaft 277.

[0074] A position detection unit 280 is attached above the lower plate 273 of the mounting plate 252a. The position detection unit 280 detects the vertical position of the lower plate 273 and thereby detects the vertical position of the moving unit 270. In this embodiment, the position detection unit 280 is a photoelectric distance sensor and has a light-projecting unit 280a and a light-receiving unit 280b. The position detection unit 280 detects the distance of the lower plate 273 from the position detection unit 280 by using the light-receiving unit 280b to receive light that is projected from the light-projecting unit 280a and reflected by the upper surface of the lower plate 273. This thereby detects the vertical position of the moving unit 270 relative to the mounting plate 252a. In other words, the position detection unit 280 detects the vertical position of the upper roller 279 and detects the thickness of paper passing between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296.

[0075] The upper roller 279 is driven to rotate. Below, mainly using Figure 9, a description will be given of a driving force transmission unit 260 that transmits the driving force of the motor 209 to the upper roller 279. The driving force transmission unit 260 is made up of a drive gear 254, a driven gear 255, a pulley gear support member 256 (shown in Figures 8 and 11), a support member 257 (shown in Figures 8 and 11), a first rotating pulley 261 to a sixth rotating pulley 266, a rotating belt 269, and a tensioner 267. These will be described in detail below.

[0076] 8, the pulley gear support member 256 is a long, plate-like member that is disposed at a distance from the lower part of the inner surface of the mounting plate 252a and is supported by a support member 257 that is attached to the inner surface of the mounting plate 252a. The pulley gear support member 256 rotatably supports a lower roller 296. The lower roller 296 is disposed between the mounting plates 252a.

[0077] The driven gear 255 is disposed between the inner lower part of the mounting plate 252 a and the pulley gear support member 256 , and is rotatably supported by the inner lower part of the mounting plate 252 a and the pulley gear support member 256 .

[0078] A plate-shaped first gear mounting member 258 is attached to the lower end of the pulley gear support member 256 so as to protrude downward from the lower end of the pulley gear support member 256. A communicating hole 258a is formed in the first gear mounting member 258 and communicates with it. As shown in FIGS. 9 and 10, a plate-shaped second gear mounting member 259 is attached to the lower end of the outer surface of the mounting plate 252a so as to protrude downward from the lower end of the outer surface of the mounting plate 252a. A communicating hole 259a is formed in the second gear mounting member 259 and communicates with it. The first shaft 211 is inserted through the communicating holes 258a and 259a.

[0079] The drive gear 254 is disposed between the first gear mounting member 258 and the second gear mounting member 259 and is rotatably mounted to the first gear mounting member 258 and the second gear mounting member 259. Spline grooves are formed on the outer peripheral surface of the first shaft 211. The drive gear 254 is mounted on the first shaft 211 so as to be rotatable relative to the first shaft 211 and to be movable in the axial direction of the first shaft 211. The drive gear 254 meshes with the driven gear 255. With this configuration, when the inspection unit 290 moves in the width direction, the rotational force of the first shaft 211 is transmitted to the drive gear 254 and then to the driven gear 255.

[0080] 9, a first rotary pulley 261 is attached to the outer side of the mounting plate 252a, and is disposed coaxially with the driven gear 255 and rotatably connected to the driven gear 255. A second rotary pulley 262 is rotatably attached above and downstream of the first rotary pulley 261 on the outer side of the mounting plate 252a. A third rotary pulley 263 is rotatably attached above and upstream of the second rotary pulley 262 on the outer side of the mounting plate 252a.

[0081] A fourth rotary pulley 264 is rotatably mounted on the support plate 274, and is disposed coaxially with the upper roller 279 and rotatably coupled to the upper roller 279. The fourth rotary pulley 264 is disposed above the third rotary pulley 263 and between the second rotary pulley 262 and the third rotary pulley 263 in the upstream / downstream direction. A rotation detector 268 is mounted on the rear side of the support plate 274, and detects the number of rotations of the fourth rotary pulley 264, i.e., the number of rotations of the upper roller 279. In this embodiment, the rotation detector 268 is a rotary encoder. As shown in FIG. 14 , the rotation detector 268 detects the distance from the edge of the paper as the paper passes between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296.

[0082] A fifth rotary pulley 265 is rotatably attached above the fourth rotary pulley 264 on the outer side of the mounting plate 252a and downstream of the fourth rotary pulley 264. A sixth rotary pulley 266 is rotatably attached above the fourth rotary pulley 264 on the outer side of the mounting plate 252a and upstream of the fourth rotary pulley 264. The fifth rotary pulley 265 and the sixth rotary pulley 266 are located at the same upward position.

[0083] A rotary belt 269 is wound around the first rotary pulley 261 to the sixth rotary pulley 266. A tensioner 267 is attached to the outer side of the mounting plate 252a on the upstream side of the second rotary pulley 262. The tensioner 267 is composed of an arm portion 267a, a tension pulley 267b, and a spring 267c.

[0084] The arm portion 267a is composed of a first arm portion 267a1 and a second arm portion 267a2. The second arm portion 267a2 is shorter than the first arm portion 267a1, is connected to the base end of the first arm portion 267a1, and extends in a direction approximately perpendicular to the extension direction of the first arm portion 267a1. The arm portion 267a is rotatably attached to the attachment plate 262a above and upstream of the first rotary pulley 261 at the connection portion between the first arm portion 267a1 and the second arm portion 267a2.

[0085] The tension pulley 267b is attached to the tip of the first arm portion 267a1. One end of a spring 267c is attached to the tip of the second arm portion 267a2. The other end of the spring 267c is fixed to the mounting plate 252a above the tip of the second arm portion 267a2. The spring 267c biases the arm portion 267a counterclockwise, that is, in the direction in which the tension pulley 267b presses the rotating belt 269. In this embodiment, the spring 267c is a coil spring. With this configuration, the tension pulley 267b presses the rotating belt 269 from the outside toward the second rotating pulley 262. Therefore, even if the fourth rotating pulley 264 moves up or down, the rotating belt 269 does not slacken and tension can be maintained. With this configuration, when the motor 209 is driven, the upper roller 279 is driven to rotate.

[0086] As shown in Fig. 11, upstream sensors 281 (281a, 281b) are provided on the mounting plate 252a upstream of the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296 to detect paper entering the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296. Downstream sensors 282 (282a, 282b) are provided on the mounting plate 252a downstream of the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296 to detect paper discharged from the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296. In this embodiment, the upstream sensor 281 and the downstream sensor 282 are photoelectric sensors. The upstream sensor 281 and the downstream sensor 282 are composed of light-emitting units 281a, 282a attached above the upper roller 279 and light-receiving units 281b, 282b attached below the lower roller 296. The upper limit relationship between the light-emitting sections 281a and 282a and the light-receiving sections 281b and 282b may be reversed.

[0087] 12, a height adjustment unit 299 that adjusts the vertical position of the moving unit 270 according to the thickness of the paper to be inspected will be described. Note that in FIG. 12, only the height adjustment unit 299, the moving unit 270, and the components attached to the moving unit 270 are shown, and other components are omitted. The height adjustment unit 299 has a pair of side frames 298, a caliper frame 227, a caliper lever 228, a first link arm 283, a second link arm 284, a first slider 285, a second slider 286, a pin 287, a first post 288, a second post 289, a biasing member 291, a first adjustment bolt 292, a second adjustment bolt 293, a nut 294, and a nut 295.

[0088] The pair of side frames 298 are rectangular plate-shaped members and are attached to the upper surface of the top plate 252c at a distance in the upstream / downstream direction so as to protrude upward from the top plate 252c. The caliper frame 227 is a rectangular plate-shaped member and is attached to the upper ends of the pair of side frames 298 so that both ends connect the upper ends of the pair of side frames 298. The extension direction of the caliper frame 227 coincides with the horizontal direction. The caliper frame 227 protrudes outward from the upper ends of the pair of side frames 298.

[0089] The first link arm 283 is a plate-shaped member that is disposed between the pair of side frames 298, and has a middle portion that is rotatably attached to the middle portions of the pair of side frames 298.

[0090] The caliper lever 228 is a plate-shaped member and is disposed between the pair of side frames 298 and above the first link arm 283. The direction of extension of the caliper lever 228 from its widthwise midpoint to its inner end coincides with the horizontal. From its widthwise midpoint to its outer end, the caliper lever 228 bends downward as it moves toward the outer side in the width direction. A communicating hole 279a is formed in the base of the caliper lever 228 and communicates with it. A pin 287 attached to the caliper frame 227 and protruding downward from the underside of the caliper frame 227 is inserted into this communicating hole 279a. With this structure, the caliper lever 228 is attached between the pair of side frames 298 so as to be movable up and down.

[0091] The second slider 286 has a block shape and is rotatably attached to the outer end of the first link arm 283. The upper surface of the second slider 286 abuts against the lower surface of the caliper lever 228.

[0092] The second link arm 284 is a plate-shaped member that is positioned adjacent to and below the first link arm 283 between a pair of side frames 298, and its outer end is rotatably attached to the pair of side frames 298.

[0093] The first slider 285 is block-shaped and is pin-supported on the inner end of the first link arm 283 and the inner end of the second slider 286. The second link arm 284 is disposed parallel to the first link arm 283. Even if the first link arm 283 rotates, the second link arm 284 rotates so as to always remain parallel to the first link arm 283. With this structure, regardless of the rotation angle of the first link arm 283, the upper surface of the second slider 286 coincides with the horizontal plane, and the second slider 286 will not tilt.

[0094] The distance from the rotation axis of the first link arm 283 to the rotation axis of the first slider 285 is the same as the distance from the rotation axis of the first link arm 283 to the rotation axis of the second slider 286.

[0095] A first post 288 that protrudes inward is attached to the inner end of the top plate 252c. A second post 289 that protrudes inward is attached to the inner end of the first link arm 283. Both ends of a biasing member 291 are connected to the first post 288 and the second post 289. The biasing member 291 biases the first link arm 283 counterclockwise in FIG. 12, biasing the first link arm 283 in a direction that lifts the second slider 286. This biases the caliper lever 228 in a direction that brings it closer to the caliper frame 227. In this embodiment, the biasing member 291 is a coil spring.

[0096] A screw hole 272b is formed in the upper plate 272 at a position corresponding to the top of the first slider 285. A first adjustment bolt 292 is screwed into this screw hole 272b. The axial direction of the first adjustment bolt 292 coincides with the up-and-down direction. In this embodiment, the first adjustment bolt 292 is a fully threaded bolt without a head, and a locking nut 294 is screwed into it. The lower end of the first adjustment bolt 292 abuts against the top surface of the first slider 285.

[0097] A screw hole 252c1 is formed in the top plate 252c at a position corresponding to the lower side of the first slider 285. A second adjustment bolt 293 is screwed into this screw hole 252c1. The axial direction of the second adjustment bolt 293 coincides with the up-down direction. In this embodiment, the second adjustment bolt 293 is a fully threaded bolt without a head, and a locking nut 295 is screwed into it. The upper end of the second adjustment bolt 293 abuts against the lower surface of the first slider 285. When the second adjustment bolt 293 is screwed in, the second adjustment bolt 293 pushes the first slider 285 upward, and the upper plate 272 moves upward via the first adjustment bolt 292. As a result, the moving part 270 moves upward, and the upper roller 279 moves upward.

[0098] If upper roller 279 and lower roller 296 are in contact with each other, upper roller 279 and lower roller 296 will wear out. Therefore, by adjusting the amount of screwing of second adjustment bolt 293, the outer circumferential surface of upper roller 279 is spaced slightly apart from the outer circumferential surface of lower roller 296.

[0099] The paper to be inspected is clamped between the caliper lever 228 and the caliper frame 227. This causes the first link arm 283 to rotate, lifting the first slider 285 and moving the upper plate 272 upward via the first adjustment bolt 292. This causes the moving part 270 to move upward, and the upper roller 279 to move upward.

[0100] As described above, the distance from the rotation axis of the first link arm 283 to the rotation axis of the first slider 285 is the same as the distance from the rotation axis of the first link arm 283 to the rotation axis of the second slider 286. Therefore, the moving part 270 is raised by an amount equal to the thickness of the paper, and the upper roller 279 is raised upward. When inspecting paper for abnormalities, the paper to be inspected is sandwiched between the caliper lever 228 and the caliper frame 227. When normal paper passes between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296, it is preferable that the upper roller 279 is raised slightly (e.g., 0.1 mm). Therefore, the screw-in amount of the first adjustment bolt 292 is adjusted so that the closest distance between the outer circumferential surfaces of the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296 is slightly (e.g., 0.1 mm) smaller than the thickness of the paper.

[0101] A block diagram of the paper inspection device 1000 will be described below using Figure 13. The paper inspection device 1000 is equipped with a control unit 40. The control unit 40 performs overall control of the paper inspection device 1000. The control unit 40 is connected to the rotation detection unit 268, position detection unit 280, upstream sensor 281, downstream sensor 282, motor 209, and actuator 320. The control unit 40 has a CPU 41, RAM 42, and storage device 43. The CPU 41 functions as an arithmetic processing device that executes arithmetic processing, etc., and realizes various functions by executing various programs stored in the storage device 43. The RAM 42 is used as a work area for the CPU 41. The storage device 43 is a storage device such as flash memory, ROM, or EEPROM, and stores various programs executed by the CPU 41, mapping data, etc.

[0102] An initial position setting program 43a, a paper thickness information storage program 43b, an abnormality determination program 43c, and an abnormal paper sorting program 43d are stored in the storage device 43. The storage device 43 also has a paper thickness information storage unit 43e.

[0103] The initial position setting program 43a is a program that sets the vertical position of the upper roller 279 to 0.000 mm (hereinafter referred to as "zero set") when no paper is passing between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296. The vertical position of the upper roller 279 detected by the position detection unit 280 may shift due to operation of the paper inspection device 1000 or external noise. The initial position setting program 43a performs zero set (1) every fixed time (e.g., 30 minutes), (2) when the paper inspection device 1000 starts operating, and (3) when the paper inspection device 1000 is started up. Note that when (1) performing zero set every fixed time, it is performed when no paper is passing between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296 based on the detection signals from the upstream sensors 281 (281a, 281b) and the downstream sensors 282 (282a, 282b).

[0104] The paper thickness information storage program 43b stores paper thickness information, which indicates the relationship between the distance from the edge of the paper and the thickness of the paper, in the paper thickness information storage unit 43e, as shown in Fig. 14, based on the detection signals from the rotation detection unit 268 and the position detection unit 280 when the paper passes between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296. In Fig. 14, (A) is the paper thickness information of normal paper, and (B) to (D) are all the thickness information of abnormal paper.

[0105] The abnormality judgment program 43c is a program that detects abnormalities in paper, such as missing booklets, folded paper or foreign matter, or a booklet containing too many sheets of paper, based on the paper thickness information stored in the paper thickness information storage unit 43e.

[0106] The abnormality determination program 43c excludes information on both ends of the paper thickness information. When the amount of change in the thickness of the paper is equal to or greater than a predetermined exclusion value, the abnormality determination program 43c determines that the end is the end of the paper and excludes the paper thickness information for that portion. Alternatively, the abnormality determination program 43c excludes the paper thickness information for both ends of the paper based on the distance from the end of the paper. The reason for excluding both ends of the information on the paper thickness information for both ends of the paper in this way is to prevent normal paper from being detected as abnormal because the thickness of the paper changes suddenly when the paper enters between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296 or when the paper is discharged from between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296.

[0107] Next, the abnormality determination program 43c detects abnormalities in the paper based on the paper thickness information excluding both ends of the paper. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 14B, if the thickness of the paper exceeds a predetermined upper limit or if the change in thickness of the paper is equal to or greater than a predetermined value, the program determines that the paper is folded or that foreign matter has been mixed in the paper and that the paper is abnormal. Alternatively, as shown in FIG. 14C, if the average value of the paper thickness information is equal to or less than the predetermined average, the program determines that the paper is missing and that the paper is abnormal. Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 14D, if the average value of the paper thickness information is abnormal to the predetermined average, the program determines that the number of pages in the paper is too large and that the paper is abnormal.

[0108] The abnormal paper sorting program 43d drives the actuator 320 to sort the paper determined to be abnormal by the abnormality determination program 43c into the collection box 310 (shown in FIG. 1).

[0109] (Effects of paper inspection equipment) The paper inspection device 1000 includes an inspection unit 290, a conveyance unit 250, and an abnormality determination program 43c. The inspection unit 290 includes a mounting member 252, a lower roller 296 rotatably attached to the mounting member 252, a moving unit 270 attached to the mounting member 252 so as to be movable in the vertical direction, an upper roller 279 rotatably attached to the moving unit 270 and positioned above the lower roller 296 opposite the lower roller 296, and a position detection unit 280 that detects the vertical position of the moving unit 270 relative to the mounting member 252. The conveying section 250 passes paper between the lower roller 296 and the upper roller 279 from the upstream side to the downstream side. The abnormality determination program 43c detects abnormalities in the paper based on a detection signal from the position detection unit 280 when the paper passes between the lower roller 296 and the upper roller 279.

[0110] According to this, when a folded or contaminated paper passes between the lower roller 296 and the upper roller 279, the detection signal from the position detection unit 280 will have a value different from that of normal paper, making it possible to detect an abnormality in the paper. Therefore, it is possible to provide a paper inspection device 1000 that can detect abnormalities in paper.

[0111] The paper inspection device 1000 further includes a motor 209 that generates a driving force, and a driving force transmission unit 260 that transmits the driving force of the motor 209 to the upper roller 279 .

[0112] According to this, because upper roller 279 is driven, compared to when upper roller 279 is not driven, upper roller 279 is prevented from being lifted upward when paper enters between upper roller 279 and lower roller 296. Therefore, it is possible to prevent erroneous detection in which normal paper is determined to be abnormal due to upper roller 279 being lifted upward.

[0113] The driving force transmission unit 260 also has a first rotating pulley 261 to which the driving force of the motor 209 is transmitted, a second rotating pulley 262 arranged above the first rotating pulley 261 and downstream of the first rotating pulley 261, a third rotating pulley 263 arranged above the second rotating pulley 262 and upstream of the second rotating pulley 262, a fourth rotating pulley 264 arranged above the third rotating pulley 263 and downstream of the third rotating pulley 263 and rotatably connected to the upper roller 279, a fifth rotating pulley 265 and a sixth rotating pulley 266 arranged next to each other in the upstream and downstream directions above the fourth rotating pulley 264, and a rotating belt 269 wound around the first rotating pulley 261 to the sixth rotating pulley 266.

[0114] This allows the driving force of the motor 209 to be reliably transmitted to the upper roller 279 that moves in the vertical direction.

[0115] The driving force transmission unit 260 further includes a tensioner 267 that presses the rotating belt 269 from the outside.

[0116] With this, even if the fourth rotary pulley 264 moves up and down in accordance with the vertical movement of the upper roller 279, the rotary belt 269 does not slacken and the tension of the rotary belt 269 can be maintained.

[0117] In addition, the moving part 270 is biased downward by a biasing member 276 .

[0118] According to this, the upper roller 279 attached to the moving part 270 is biased downward, so that when the paper passes between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296, the upper roller 279, which is movable in the vertical direction, is pressed against the paper and follows it. This makes it possible to accurately detect the thickness of the paper, and ultimately to detect abnormalities in the paper with higher accuracy.

[0119] The diameter of the upper roller 279 is set to be larger than the diameter of the lower roller 296 .

[0120] With this, while the space for installing the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296 is limited, by making the diameter of the upper roller 279 as large as possible, it is possible to reduce the angle between the paper and the upper roller 279 when the paper enters between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296. This prevents the upper roller 279 from lifting up when the paper enters between the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296. This makes it possible to detect folds in the paper with high accuracy.

[0121] The conveying section 250 also has a rotating lower conveying belt 236 and a rotating upper conveying belt 246 disposed above and facing the lower conveying belt 236. The conveying section 250 is configured to convey paper or the like between the lower conveying belt 236 and the upper conveying belt 246.

[0122] According to this, the paper is sandwiched between the lower conveying belt 236 and the upper conveying belt 246 and conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side, so that the paper can be conveyed stably, and therefore, folds in the paper can be detected stably.

[0123] In addition, the inspection units 290 are disposed on both sides of the lower conveyor belt 236 and the upper conveyor belt 246 .

[0124] This allows the inspection unit 290 to inspect both widthwise ends of the paper, where creases are likely to occur, and makes it possible to more reliably detect creases in the paper.

[0125] The inspection unit 290 is also provided so as to be movable in the width direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is transported.

[0126] This allows the inspection unit 290 to inspect both widthwise ends of the paper even if the paper has different widths.

[0127] The lower conveying belt 236 is wound around a rotatably mounted downstream lower pulley 231 and an upstream lower pulley 235 rotatably mounted upstream of the downstream lower pulley 231 in the paper conveying direction. The upper conveying belt 246 is wound around a downstream upper pulley 241 and an upstream upper pulley 245 arranged upstream of the downstream upper pulley 241 in the paper conveying direction. The downstream upper pulley 241 and the upstream upper pulley 245 are rotatably attached by an upper support member 242. The upper support member 242 is rotatably mounted around the same center of rotation as the downstream upper pulley 241.

[0128] With this, even if the paper has a different thickness, the upper support member 242 rotates to adjust the separation distance between the upstream upper pulley 245 and the upstream lower pulley 235, and the paper enters between the upstream upper pulley 245 and the upstream lower pulley 235, and is transported by the lower transport belt 236 and the upper transport belt 246. Therefore, it is possible to provide a paper inspection device 1000 that can detect abnormalities in paper even if the thickness of the paper is different.

[0129] In addition, the transport section 250 further includes a pulley adjustment mechanism 249 that adjusts the rotation angle of the upper support member 242.

[0130] According to this, by adjusting the rotation angle of the upper support member 242 with the pulley adjustment mechanism 249, it is possible to adjust the separation distance between the upstream lower pulley 235 and the upstream upper pulley 245 according to the thickness of the paper. Therefore, it is possible to provide a paper inspection device 1000 that can handle papers of different thicknesses.

[0131] The inspection unit 290 further includes a height adjustment unit 299 that adjusts the position of the moving unit 270 in the up-down direction.

[0132] According to this, even if the thickness of the paper varies depending on the specifications, abnormalities in the paper can be properly detected by adjusting the vertical position of the moving part 270 using the height adjustment part 299, thereby adjusting the distance between the outer peripheral surface of the lower roller 296 and the outer peripheral surface of the upper roller 279.

[0133] The height adjustment unit 299 has a pair of side frames 298 attached to the top plate 252c of the attachment member 252 with a gap between them, a plate-like caliper frame 227 attached so as to connect the upper ends of the side frames 298, and a first link arm 283 disposed between the pair of side frames 298 and rotatably attached to the pair of side frames 298, one end of which is in contact with the top plate 272 of the moving unit 270. The height adjustment unit 299 is configured so that when paper is inserted between the first link arm 283 and the caliper frame 227, the first link arm 283 rotates and the moving unit 270 moves upward.

[0134] With this, simply inserting the paper between first link arm 283 and caliper frame 227 moves moving part 270 upward, and with this, upper roller 279 also moves upward. Therefore, even when inspecting folds in paper of different thicknesses depending on specifications, the distance between the outer circumferential surface of lower roller 296 and the outer circumferential surface of upper roller 279 can be appropriately adjusted, making it possible to appropriately detect any abnormalities in the paper.

[0135] The height adjustment unit 299 further includes a plate-shaped caliper lever 228 that is disposed between the pair of side frames 298 and between the first link arm 283 and the caliper frame 227 so as to be movable in the vertical direction; a second link arm 284 that is disposed between the pair of side frames 298 below the first link arm 283 and is rotatable on the pair of side frames 298 and parallel to the first link arm 283; a block-shaped first slider 285 that is pin-supported at the base ends of the first link arm 283 and the second link arm 284; and a block-shaped second slider 286 that is rotatably attached to the tip of the first link arm 283 and whose upper surface is in surface contact with the lower surface of the caliper lever 228. The first slider 285 abuts against the mounting member 252 and the moving unit 270. When inspecting folds in paper, the paper is inserted between the caliper lever 228 and the caliper frame 227.

[0136] According to this, during inspection of paper, the underside of the paper does not come into direct contact with the first link arm 283, but rather comes into surface contact with the plate-shaped caliper lever 228, so that the moving part 270 can be moved upward with high precision by the thickness of the paper. Also, the underside of the caliper lever 228 does not come into direct contact with the tip of the first link arm 283, but rather comes into surface contact with the tip of the caliper lever 228 via the second slider 286, so that the moving part 270 can be moved upward with high precision by the thickness of the paper. Furthermore, because the second link arm 284 is provided parallel to the first link arm 283, the first slider 285, which is pin-supported by the first link arm 283 and the second link arm 284, does not tilt regardless of the rotation angle of the first link arm 283. In this way, the first slider 285 that is in contact with the mounting member 252 and the moving part 270 does not tilt, and therefore the moving part 270 can be moved upward by the thickness of the paper with high precision.

[0137] The upper surface of the first slider 285 is in contact with the upper plate 272 of the moving part 270 via a first adjustment bolt 292 that is screwed into the upper plate 272 of the moving part 270 and whose axial direction coincides with the vertical direction.

[0138] According to this, by adjusting the amount that first adjustment bolt 292 is screwed into upper plate 272 of moving section 270, the vertical position of moving section 270 can be changed, and the vertical position of upper roller 279 can be changed. Therefore, when detecting a crease in paper, the distance between upper roller 279 and lower roller 296 can be set to a distance that is optimal for detecting a crease. As a result, abnormalities in paper can be detected with higher accuracy.

[0139] The lower surface of the first slider 285 abuts against the top plate 252c of the mounting member 252 via a second adjustment bolt 293 that is screwed into the top plate 252c of the mounting member 252 and whose axial direction coincides with the vertical direction.

[0140] According to this, by adjusting the amount by which second adjustment bolt 293 is screwed into top plate 252c of mounting member 252, the vertical position of moving unit 270 can be changed, and the vertical position of upper roller 279 can be changed. Therefore, by adjusting the amount by which second adjustment bolt 293 is screwed into top plate 252c of mounting member 252, the distance between upper roller 279 and lower roller 296 can be adjusted. As a result, when no paper is passing between upper roller 279 and lower roller 296, upper roller 279 can be spaced slightly further away from lower roller 296, and wear on upper roller 279 and lower roller 296 due to contact between upper roller 279 and lower roller 296 can be suppressed.

[0141] (Other embodiments) The present invention has been described above in relation to the embodiment that is considered to be the most practical and preferable at this time, but the present invention is not limited to the embodiment disclosed in this specification, and can be modified as appropriate within the scope of the claims and the gist or idea of ​​the invention that can be read from the specification as a whole, and it must be understood that a paper inspection device 1000 with such modifications is also included in the technical scope.

[0142] In the embodiment described above, the sliding support member 251 and the sliding support member 297 are ball splines. The sliding support member 251 and the sliding support member 297 may be members that are slidably attached to a shaft, such as an oilless bushing.

[0143] In the embodiment described above, the driving force transmission unit 260 transmits the driving force of the motor 209 to the upper roller 279. An embodiment in which the driving force transmission unit 260 transmits the driving force of the motor 209 to the lower roller 296 may also be used. Alternatively, an embodiment in which the driving force transmission unit 260 transmits the driving force of the motor 209 to both the upper roller 279 and the lower roller 296 may also be used.

[0144] In the embodiment described above, the position detection unit 280 is an optical sensor, but a mechanical sensor may also be used for the position detection unit 280. In this embodiment, an optical sensor is used as the position detection unit 280, which has good responsiveness and can detect the vertical position of the upper roller 279 with good responsiveness, making it possible to detect abnormalities in paper with higher accuracy. [Explanation of symbols]

[0145] 43c Abnormality judgment program (abnormality judgment part) 227 caliper frame 228 Caliper lever 231 Downstream lower pulley 235 Upstream lower pulley 241 Downstream upper pulley 245 Upstream upper pulley 242 Upper support member 236 Lower conveyor belt 246 Upper conveyor belt 249 Pulley adjustment mechanism 250 conveyor 252 Mounting parts 261 Lower Roller 270 Mobile Unit 276 biasing member 279 Upper Roller 280 Position detection unit 209 Motor 261 First rotating pulley 262 Second rotating pulley 263 Third rotating pulley 264 4th rotating pulley 265 5th rotating pulley 266 6th rotating pulley 267 Tensioner 269 ​​Rotating Belt 260 Driving force transmission section 283 First link arm 284 Second link arm 285 First Slider 286 Second Slider 290 Inspection Department 292 First adjustment bolt 293 Second adjustment bolt 296 Lower Roller 298 Side Frame 299 Height adjustment unit 1000 Paper Inspection Equipment

Claims

1. a mounting member (252); a lower roller (296) rotatably mounted on said mounting member; A moving part (270) attached to the attachment member so as to be movable in the up and down direction; an upper roller (279) rotatably attached to the moving part and arranged above the lower roller and facing the lower roller; a position detection unit (280) that detects the vertical position of the moving unit relative to the mounting member; An inspection unit (290) comprising: a conveying section (250) for passing paper between the lower roller and the upper roller from the upstream side to the downstream side; A paper inspection device characterized by having an abnormality judgment unit (43c) that detects abnormalities in the paper based on a detection signal from the position detection unit when the paper passes between the lower roller and the upper roller.

2. A motor (209) that generates a driving force; The paper inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising a driving force transmission unit (260) that transmits the driving force of the motor to the upper roller.

3. The driving force transmission unit includes: a first rotary pulley (261) to which the driving force of the motor is transmitted; a second rotary pulley (262) disposed above the first rotary pulley and downstream of the first rotary pulley; a third rotary pulley (263) disposed above the second rotary pulley and upstream of the second rotary pulley; a fourth rotary pulley (264) disposed above and downstream of the third rotary pulley and rotatably connected to the upper roller; a fifth rotary pulley (265) and a sixth rotary pulley (266) arranged above the fourth rotary pulley and aligned in the upstream and downstream direction; The paper inspection device according to claim 2, further comprising a rotating belt (269) wound around the first to sixth rotating pulleys.

4. The paper inspection device according to claim 3, wherein the driving force transmission unit further includes a tensioner (267) that presses the rotating belt from the outside.

5. The paper inspection device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the moving part is biased downward by a biasing member (276).

6. The conveying unit is a rotating lower conveyor belt (236); a rotating upper conveyor belt (246) disposed above and facing the lower conveyor belt; 2. The paper inspection device according to claim 1, wherein the paper is transported between the lower transport belt and the upper transport belt.

7. 7. The paper inspection device according to claim 6, wherein the inspection units are disposed on both sides of the lower conveyor belt and the upper conveyor belt.

8. The paper inspection device according to claim 7, wherein the inspection unit is provided so as to be movable in a width direction perpendicular to the direction in which the paper is transported.

9. The lower conveying belt is wound around a rotatably provided downstream lower pulley (231) and an upstream lower pulley (235) rotatably provided upstream of the downstream lower pulley in the conveying direction of the paper products, The upper conveying belt is wound around a downstream upper pulley (241) and an upstream upper pulley (245) arranged upstream of the downstream upper pulley in the conveying direction of the paper products, the downstream upper pulley and the upstream upper pulley are rotatably mounted by an upper support member (242); The paper inspection device according to claim 6, wherein the upper support member is provided rotatably around the same center of rotation as the center of rotation of the downstream upper pulley.

10. The paper inspection device according to claim 9, further comprising a pulley adjustment mechanism (249) for adjusting the rotation angle of the upper support member.

11. The paper inspection device according to claim 1, further comprising a height adjustment unit (299) for adjusting the vertical position of the moving unit.

12. The height adjustment unit includes a pair of side frames (298) attached to the attachment member with a gap therebetween; A plate-shaped caliper frame (227) attached so as to connect the upper end of the side frame; a first link arm (283) disposed between the pair of side frames, pivotally attached to the pair of side frames, one end of which is in contact with the moving part; The paper inspection device described in claim 11, characterized in that when the paper is inserted between the first link arm and the caliper frame, the first link arm rotates and the moving part moves upward.

13. The height adjustment unit is a plate-shaped caliper lever (228) provided between the pair of side frames and between the first link arm and the caliper frame so as to be movable in the up and down direction; a second link arm (284) provided between the pair of side frames below the first link arm and rotatably on the pair of side frames and parallel to the first link arm; a first slider (285) that is block-shaped and pin-supported at the base ends of the first link arm and the second link arm; a second slider (286) that is block-shaped and rotatably attached to the tip of the first link arm, the upper surface of which is in surface contact with the lower surface of the caliper lever; the first slider abuts against the mounting member and the moving portion, The paper inspection device according to claim 12, wherein when inspecting the paper for folds, the paper is inserted between the caliper lever and the caliper frame.

14. A paper inspection device as described in claim 13, characterized in that the upper surface of the first slider abuts against the moving part via a first adjustment bolt (292) that is screwed into the moving part and whose axial direction coincides with the vertical direction.

15. A paper inspection device as described in claim 13, characterized in that the lower surface of the first slider abuts against the mounting member via a second adjustment bolt (293) that is screwed into the mounting member and whose axial direction coincides with the vertical direction.

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