Paper sheet binding device

Abstract

A paper sheet binding device includes a conveyance mechanism that conveys accumulated paper sheets, and a binding mechanism that binds the accumulated paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism. The binding mechanism includes a retention portion that places the accumulated paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism onto a placement position corresponding to a size of the accumulated paper sheets and transfers the accumulated paper sheets that have been placed, and a binding portion that binds the accumulated paper sheets transferred from the retention portion.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a paper sheet binding device.

[0002] Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-100073, filed June 19, 2023, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.Background Art

[0003] There is a paper sheet processing device that includes a paper sheet counting device that identifies and counts paper sheets such as banknotes, and a paper sheet binding device that binds the paper sheets identified and counted by the paper sheet counting device (for example, Patent Document 1). This type of paper sheet binding device has an accumulation mechanism in which paper sheets identified and counted by a paper sheet counting device are accumulated, a conveyance mechanism that conveys the paper sheets stacked in the accumulation mechanism, and a binding mechanism that binds the paper sheets conveyed from the accumulation mechanism by the conveyance mechanism.Prior Art DocumentsPatent Documents

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-178509SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONProblems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In a paper sheet binding device, when attempting to create small bundles of paper sheets of different sizes, such as a small bundle of paper sheets formed by accumulating and binding one set of paper sheets of the same size and a small bundle of paper sheets formed by accumulating and binding another set of paper sheets of the same size but different from the first set of paper sheets, there is a possibility that the binding will not be performed properly.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a paper sheet binding device that can effectively produce small bundles of paper sheets of a variety of sizes.Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure is a paper sheet binding device including: a conveyance mechanism that conveys paper sheets in an accumulated state; and a binding mechanism that binds the paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, and the binding mechanism includes: a retention portion that places the paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism onto a placement position corresponding to a size of the paper sheets and transfers the placed paper sheets; and a binding portion that binds the paper sheets transferred from the retention portion.Effects of Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a paper sheet binding device that can favorably produce small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] [FIG. 1] A front view schematically illustrating a paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 2] A block diagram showing a partial configuration of the paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 3] A plan view schematically illustrating a binding mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 4] A plan view schematically showing a retention portion and a chuck portion of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating how the device accommodates different sizes of accumulated paper sheets. [FIG. 5] A perspective view showing an adjusting portion of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 6] A side view schematically showing the binding mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating changes in the state of the conveyance portion. [FIG. 7] A front view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is narrow. [FIG. 8] A plan view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is narrow. [FIG. 9] A front view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is wide. [FIG. 10] A plan view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is wide. [FIG. 11] An exploded perspective view showing the chuck portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 12] A perspective view showing a chuck base portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 13] A front view showing a binding portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 14] A front view showing a chuck portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 15] A front view showing a winding strength setting screen of a modified example of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 16] A partial front view showing a second chuck portion of a modified example of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure when the winding strength is different. EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION<Embodiment>

[0010] A paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The paper sheet processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 performs a counting and sorting process of counting and sorting banknotes as paper sheets S, and a counting and binding process of counting and binding banknotes as paper sheets S. In the counting and sorting process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into countable paper sheets S and rejected paper sheets S, and further counts and sorts the countable paper sheets S by type before storing them. In addition, in the counting and binding process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into paper sheets S to be bound and rejected paper sheets S that are not to be bound, and then accumulates the paper sheets S to be bound in groups of a predetermined number and binds them to form small bundles of paper sheets. In the following description, "front" refers to the operator's side of the paper sheet processing device 1, "rear" refers to the opposite side from the operator of the paper sheet processing device 1, "right" refers to the right side as seen from the operator of the paper sheet processing device 1, and "left" refers to the left side as seen from the operator of the paper sheet processing device 1.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the paper sheet processing device 1 of the embodiment is configured by connecting a paper sheet counting device 2, a paper sheet accumulation device 3, and a paper sheet binding device 4 in this order from the right. the paper sheet processing device 1 can also be provided with a retraction pocket portion 5 at the left end of the paper sheet processing device 1, that is, on the left side of the paper sheet binding device 4.(Paper sheet counting device 2)

[0012] The paper sheet counting device 2 has an input port 11 that is located from the middle to the bottom in the vertical direction on the right side of the device and is always open to the outside of the paper sheet counting device 2 over the right side and front, and a reject portion 12 that is located above the input port 11 on the right side of the device and is always open to the outside of the paper sheet counting device 2 over the right side and front.

[0013] A plurality of sheets S are set in the input port 11 in a state where they are accumulated vertically with their long sides aligned front to back and their short sides aligned left to right. The input port 11 separates and feeds out the accumulated paper sheets S set in this manner, one by one, starting from the bottom one, and takes them into the paper sheet counting device 2. The paper sheets S fed from the input port 11 move along the direction in which their short sides extend.

[0014] Inside the paper sheet counting device 2, there is provided a counting device internal conveyance portion 21 that conveys paper sheets S dispensed from the input port 11, and an identification portion 22 that identifies and counts the paper sheets S being conveyed by the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The paper sheets S conveyed by the counting device internal conveyance portion 21 move along the direction in which their short sides extend. The identification portion 22 identifies the conveyance state and type of the paper sheet S, such as the denomination.

[0015] The counting device internal conveyance portion 21 has a leftward extension portion 21a, an upward extension portion 21b, a leftward extension portion 21c, and a branch extension portion 21d. The leftward extension portion 21a extends from the input port 11 toward the left side of the paper sheet counting device 2. The upward extension portion 21b extends upward from an end portion near the left side surface of the leftward extension portion 21a. The leftward extension portion 21c extends from the upper end of the upward extension portion 21b toward the left side surface of the paper sheet counting device 2 and opens to the left side surface. The branch extension portion 21d extends from the upper end of the upward extension portion 21b toward the right side surface of the paper sheet counting device 2 and connects to the reject portion 12. The counting device internal conveyance portion 21 has the identification portion 22 provided on the upward extension portion 21b along the vertical direction. The reject portion 12 receives the paper sheets S from the branch extension portion 21d of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The rejected paper sheets S thus fed are accumulated from bottom to top in the reject portion 12.

[0016] An operation display portion 25 is provided on the front surface of the paper sheet counting device 2 to receive operation inputs and display information. Inside the paper sheet counting device 2, there is a control portion 26 that controls each part of the paper sheet counting device 2, the paper sheet accumulation device 3 coupled to the paper sheet counting device 2, and the paper sheet binding device 4, i.e., the entire paper sheet processing device 1. The paper sheet counting device 2 also includes a storage portion 27 for storing master data that serves as a basis for identification, data on the identification and counting results, and the like.(Paper sheet accumulation device 3)

[0017] Inside the paper sheet accumulation device 3, there is provided an accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 that is connected to the leftward extension portion 21c of the paper sheet counting device 2 and conveys the paper sheets S fed from the leftward extension portion 21c. The paper sheets S conveyed by the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 also move along the direction in which their short sides extend.

[0018] The accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 has a coupling conveyance portion 31A that opens at the top of the right side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, extends horizontally and linearly toward the left side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and opens at the top of the left side, and a branch conveyance portion 31B that branches off downward from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 31A. The coupling conveyance portion 31A and the branch conveyance portion 31B each have an individual drive motor and can be driven independently.

[0019] The branch conveyance portion 31B branches off from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 31A and extends vertically downward, with the terminal portions on the opposite side of the coupling conveyance portion 31A including a downward extension portion 31Ba that extends toward the right side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and multiple, specifically three, branch extension portions 31Bb that branch off from intermediate positions of the downward extension portion 31Ba and extend toward the right side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3. An accumulation portion 32 is connected to the terminal portion of the downward extension portion 31Ba and the terminal portion of each of the three branch extension portions 31Bb. Therefore, the paper sheet accumulation device 3 is provided with a plurality of the accumulation portions 32, specifically, four accumulation portions 32. Each of the accumulation portions 32 is always open to the outside of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 from the front side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3.

[0020] Each of the plurality of accumulation portions 32 all have the same configuration. Each accumulation portion 32 has a bottom 35 that slopes downward to the right with respect to the horizontal, and a support wall 36 that extends upward from the right end position of the bottom 35 and perpendicular to the bottom 35. At the end of the bottom 35 of each accumulation portion 32 opposite the support wall portion 36, there is provided an impeller 37 which is provided at each end position of the branch conveyance portion 31B and which feeds out paper sheets S into the accumulation portion 32. The impeller 37 rotates together with the paper sheet S conveyed by the branch conveyance portion 31B, pinching it between its blades. When the paper sheet S comes into contact with the bottom portion 35 and escapes from between the blades of the impeller 37, the blades of the impeller 37 push the paper sheet S toward the support wall portion 36. As a result, the paper sheets S are accumulated in order on the support wall portion 36 in a state where they stand on the bottom portion 35 with their short sides aligned vertically.

[0021] In the paper sheet processing device 1, the paper sheet counting device 2 and the paper sheet accumulation device 3 are used to perform the counting and sorting process described above. The counting and sorting process is a process in which the paper sheets S set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2 are identified and counted in the identification portion 22 of the paper sheet counting device 2, and the paper sheets S to be counted and sorted are accumulated in the multiple accumulation portions 32 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 while being classified.

[0022] When a user inputs an operation to select the counting and sorting process on the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 causes the operation display portion 25 to set the type of paper sheets S that will be subjected to the classification and counting process and stored in each accumulation portion 32. For example, one of the multiple accumulation portions 32, a first accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 10,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22, another, a second accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 5,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22, a further, third accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 1,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22, and a further, fourth accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 2,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22.

[0023] When the paper sheets S are set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 and the start operation for the counting and sorting process is input to the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 separates the paper sheets S in an accumulated state set in the input port 11 one by one and conveys them using the leftward extension portion 21a and the upward extension portion 21b of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The control portion 26 then controls the identification portion 22 to identify each paper sheet S while being conveyed by the upward extension portion 21b. When paper sheet S is identified from the identification result of the identification portion 22 as a reject paper sheet S that is not subject to counting and sorting processing, which includes a paper sheet S with abnormal identification such as a counterfeit note, a damaged note, and a note with tape attached, the control portion 26 conveys this paper sheet S from the upward extension portion 21b to the branch extension portion 21d and stores it in the reject portion 12 without counting it.

[0024] When the paper sheet S is identified from the identification result of the identification portion 22 as being subject to the counting and sorting process, the control portion 26 adds one to the count value of the type of this paper sheet S, i.e., its denomination, and conveys the paper sheet S to the accumulation portion 32 corresponding to its type and stores it therein using the upward extension portion 21b, the leftward extension portion 21c, the coupling conveyance portion 31A and the branch conveyance portion 31B of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 within the paper sheet accumulation device 3.

[0025] In this way, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies and stores the paper sheets S to be counted and sorted from among the paper sheets S set in an accumulated state at the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2 into multiple accumulation portions 32 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3. A sensor may be provided to detect that a sheet S has been set in the input port 11, and when this sensor detects the paper sheet S, the counting and sorting process may be automatically started.(Paper sheet binding device 4)

[0026] Inside the paper sheet binding device 4, there is provided a binding device internal conveyance portion 41 that is connected to the coupling conveyance portion 31A of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 and conveys the paper sheets S fed out from the coupling conveyance portion 31A. The paper sheets S conveyed by the binding device internal conveyance portion 41 also move along the direction in which their short sides extend.

[0027] The binding device internal conveyance portion 41 has a coupling conveyance portion 41A and a branch conveyance portion 41B. The coupling conveyance portion 41A opens at the top of the right side of the paper sheet binding device 4 to be connected to the coupling conveyance portion 31A, extends horizontally and linearly toward the left side of the paper sheet binding device 4, and opens at the top of the left side to be connected to the evacuation pocket portion 5 if the evacuation pocket portion 5 is provided. The branch conveyance portion 41B branches downward from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 41A. The coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B each have an individual drive motor and can be driven independently.

[0028] The branch conveyance portion 41B branches off from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and extends vertically downward. The end of the branch conveyance portion 41B opposite the coupling conveyance portion 41A has a downward extension portion 41Ba that extends toward the right side of the paper sheet binding device 4, and a branch extension portion 41Bb that branches off from the intermediate position of the downward extension portion 41Ba and extends toward the right side of the paper sheet binding device 4. An accumulation mechanism 42 is connected to the end of the downward extension portion 41Ba and the end of the branch extension portion 41Bb. Therefore, the paper sheet binding device 4 is provided with a plurality of, specifically, two, accumulation mechanisms 42.

[0029] In the paper sheet processing device 1, the process using the paper sheet counting device 2, the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the paper sheet binding device 4 is the counting and binding process described above. The counting and binding process is a process of binding the paper sheets S to be bound from the paper sheets S set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2.

[0030] When an operation to select the counting and binding process is input on the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 causes the operation display portion 25 to set the paper sheets S to be bound. For example, Japanese currency, 10,000 yen notes, are set as the paper sheets S to be bound.

[0031] When paper sheets S are set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 and the start operation for the counting and binding process is input to the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 separates the paper sheets S in an accumulated state set in the input port 11 one by one and conveys them using the leftward extension portion 21a and upward extension portion 21b of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The control portion 26 then controls the identification portion 22 to identify each paper sheet S while being conveyed by the upward extension portion 21b. If the identification result of the identification portion 22 identifies the paper sheet S as a paper sheet with an identification error such as a counterfeit note, a damaged note, or a note with tape attached, the control portion 26 does not count the paper sheet S, but instead conveys it from the upward extension portion 21b to the reject portion 12 via the branch extension portion 21d for collection.

[0032] If the identification result of the identification portion 22 identifies a paper sheet S as a paper sheet S that is correctly identified but one that is not a target for binding because it is a different denomination, the control portion 26 conveys this paper sheet S from the upward extension portion 21b to the reject portion 12 via the branch extension portion 21d for collection. Paper sheets S that have been identified as correctly identified paper sheets S but are of a different denomination and not to be bound can be conveyed to a designated accumulation portion 32 for collection by the upward extension portion 21b, the leftward extension portion 21c, and the coupling conveyance portion 31A and branch conveyance portion 31B of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 within the paper sheet accumulation device 3. In other words, the collection destination for paper sheets S of different denominations that have been properly identified but are not to be bound can be arbitrarily selected from the reject portion 12 and the plurality of accumulation portions 32.

[0033] When the identification portion 22 identifies, from its identification result, that the paper sheet S is one to be bound, the control portion 26 causes the upward extension portion 21b, the leftward extension portion 21c, the coupling conveyance portion 31A of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the coupling conveyance portion 41A and branch conveyance portion 41B of the paper sheet binding device 4 to convey the sheet S to the accumulation mechanism 42 for collection in units of the number to be bound (specifically, 100 sheets). In the counting and binding process, the control portion 26 first accumulates the specified number of paper sheets S in the upper accumulation mechanism 42 of the two accumulation mechanisms 42 at the downward extension portion 41Ba and branch extension portion 41Bb of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B. Next, the specified number of sheets S are accumulated in the lower accumulation mechanism 42 by the downward extension 41Ba of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B. Next, the specified number of sheets S are accumulated in the upper accumulation mechanism 42 by the downward extension portion 41Ba and the branch extension portion 41Bb of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B. In this way, the paper sheets S in the number to be bound are alternately accumulated in the two accumulation mechanisms 42. A sensor may be provided in the input port 11 to detect that the paper sheets S have been set, and when this sensor detects the paper sheets S, the counting and binding process may be automatically started.

[0034] The accumulation mechanism 42 aligns the position in the short side direction by abutting the long side of the right end of the paper sheets S that are sequentially released to the right from the connected one of the downward extension portion 41Ba and branch extension portion 41Bb of the branch conveyance portion 41B against a positioning wall portion (not shown) that extends perpendicular to the left-right direction. At the same time, the accumulation mechanism 42 aligns the long-side positions of the paper sheets S that are sequentially released by simultaneously tapping both short sides of the paper sheets S using jogging mechanisms (not shown) provided on both sides of the paper sheets S in the long-side direction. The accumulation mechanism 42 accumulates the sequentially discharged paper sheets S from bottom to top while aligning the positions of their short sides and long sides.

[0035] The jogging mechanisms on both sides of the accumulation mechanism 42 (not shown) each stroke toward the paper sheets S to positions corresponding to the long-side length of the paper sheets S that are set as the binding target at the start of the counting and binding process, so that, regardless of the long-side length of the paper sheets S to be bound, the central position in the long-side direction is positioned at a predetermined reference position in the front-rear direction within the paper sheet binding device 4, thereby positioning the paper sheets S in the long-side direction. That is, the jogging mechanisms (not shown) on both sides of the accumulation mechanism 42 stroke toward the paper sheets S by a shorter stroke amount when the paper sheets S having a long-side length greater than that of paper sheets S with a given long-side length are the binding target than the stroke amount toward the paper sheets S when the paper sheets S with the given long-side length are the binding target, and stroke toward the paper sheets S by a longer stroke amount when the paper sheets S having a long-side length shorter than that of paper sheets S with the given long-side length are the binding target, so that in any case the central position in the long-side direction is positioned at the predetermined reference position in the front-rear direction, thereby positioning the paper sheets S.

[0036] The paper sheet binding device 4 has a conveyance mechanism 45 that, when at one multiple accumulation mechanism 42 of the multiple accumulation mechanisms 42, the paper sheets S are accumulated into a bundle of 100 sheets, forming the accumulated paper sheets SS, conveys these accumulated paper sheets SS, and when at another multiple accumulation mechanism 42 of the multiple accumulation mechanisms 42, the paper sheets S are accumulated into a bundle of 100 sheets, forming the accumulated paper sheets SS, conveys these accumulated paper sheets SS. The conveyance mechanism 45 has a gripping portion 46, a gripping operation drive mechanism 47 shown in FIG. 2, and a gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48 shown in FIG. 2. The gripping portion 46 grips, from above and below, the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been accumulated vertically by the accumulation mechanism 42 with their short sides and long sides aligned. The gripping operation drive mechanism 47 causes the gripping portion 46 to perform a gripping operation and a release operation. The gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48 moves the gripping portion 46 shown in FIG. 1. The long sides of the paper sheets S constituting the accumulated paper sheets SS are also referred to as the long sides in the accumulated paper sheets SS, and the short sides of the paper sheets S constituting the accumulated paper sheets SS are also referred to as the short sides in the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1, in the conveyance mechanism 45, the gripping portion 46 grips the accumulated paper sheets SS accumulated by the number of sheets bound in the accumulation mechanism 42, pulls them out of the accumulation mechanism 42 to the right, moves vertically downward, and then moves to the left to convey them. At this time, the gripping portion 46 grips the accumulated paper sheets SS at a position a predetermined distance from the long side at the right end in the short side direction, regardless of the length of the short side. The gripping portion 46 also conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS while maintaining the central position of the long side direction at the reference position in the front-rear direction.

[0038] The paper sheet binding device 4 is located to the left of the lower part of the conveyance mechanism 45, and has a binding mechanism 51 that receives and binds the accumulated paper sheets SS from the gripping portion 46 that has moved to the left after descending as described above. In other words, the binding mechanism 51 binds the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45. As shown in FIG. 3, the binding mechanism 51 has a retention portion 52, a binding portion 53, and a discharge portion 54.<1. Retention portion 52>

[0039] The retention portion 52 temporarily places the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 over a distance corresponding to the size of the short side, and then transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been placed to the binding portion 53.

[0040] When placing the accumulated paper sheets SS, the retention portion 52 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction, and adjusts their position relative to the binding portion 53. In other words, the retention portion 52 places the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 at a placement position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0041] The retention portion 52 is disposed on the left side of the conveyance mechanism 45.

[0042] The retention portion 52 includes a placement portion 61, an adjusting portion 62, and a transfer portion 63.<1-1. Placement portion 61>

[0043] As shown in FIG. 3, the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 is placed on the placement portion 61.

[0044] The placement portion 61 is, for example, a plate member, and is provided on the upper surface of a retention base portion (not shown) that is provided in a fixed position relative to a housing 60 of the paper sheet binding device 4. Therefore, the position of the placement portion 61 is fixed relative to the housing 60. The top surface of the placement portion 61 is flat and extends horizontally. The center position of the placement portion 61 in the front-rear direction is the reference position. Therefore, the gripping portion 46 places the accumulated paper sheets SS on the placement portion 61 so that the center position in the long side direction coincides with the center position of the placement portion 61 in the front-rear direction.<1-2. Adjusting portion 62>

[0045] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the adjusting portion 62 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 in accordance with the length of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction. Specifically, the adjusting portion 62 positions the central position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 so that it coincides with the central position X in the left-right direction of the binding portion 53 on which the accumulated paper sheets SS will later be placed.

[0046] The adjusting portion 62, like the placement portion 61, is provided on the upper surface of a retention base portion (not shown).

[0047] The adjusting portion 62 is disposed on the left side of the placement portion 61 with a gap between itself and the placement portion 61. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3, the adjusting portion 62 is located downstream (rearward) of the placement portion 61 in the conveying direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the conveyance mechanism 45 (left-right direction of the paper sheet binding device 4).

[0048] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the adjusting portion 62 has a wall portion 71 provided so as to be movable relative to the placement portion 61, and a moving portion 72 that moves the wall portion 71.

[0049] The wall portion 71 is an L-shaped plate member and has a support portion 75 and an abutment portion 76.

[0050] The support portion 75 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction and is disposed horizontally. The support portion 75 has a flat upper surface that extends horizontally. The upper surface of the support portion 75 is disposed on the same plane as the upper surface of the placement portion 61. The support portion 75 supports the accumulated paper sheets SS together with the placement portion 61.

[0051] The abutment portion 76 has a rectangular shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and extends vertically upward from the left edge of the support portion 75. The right side surface of the abutment portion 76 is planar, extending perpendicular to the left-right direction. The abutment portion 76 abuts the long side at the left end of the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 as shown in FIG. 3. The accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 are placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 while abutting the abutment portion 76 in this manner. The abutment portion 76 adjusts the placement position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 as shown in the abutment state from parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4. In other words, the abutment portion 76 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61.

[0052] The conveyance mechanism 45 shown in FIG. 3 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS by the gripping portion 46 toward the retention portion 52 by a predetermined distance according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction. This predetermined distance is a distance at which the accumulated paper sheets SS can reliably abut the abutment portion 76.

[0053] The moving portion 72 can move the wall portion 71 in the direction of conveyance of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the conveyance mechanism 45 (left and right direction of the paper sheet binding device 4), and can move the wall portion 71 in a direction away from and towards the placement portion 61 as shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4. The moving portion 72 moves the wall portion 71 in accordance with the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 5, the moving portion 72 has a moving base portion 81, a first pin member 82, a second pin member 83, a first link member 84, a second link member 85, a coupling pin member 86, a third pin member 87, a fourth pin member 88, a support member 89, a moving block 90, and a moving drive mechanism 91.

[0055] The moving base portion 81 is fixed to a retention base portion (not shown). The moving base portion 81 has a base upper plate portion 101, a base side plate portion 102, a base intermediate plate portion 103, a base extension plate portion 104, and a base lower plate portion 105.

[0056] The base upper plate portion 101 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction and is disposed horizontally.

[0057] The base side plate portion 102 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends downward from the left edge of the base upper plate portion 101. The base side plate portion 102 extends perpendicularly to the left-right direction.

[0058] The base intermediate plate portion 103 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and widens to the right from the lower edge of the base side plate portion 102. The base intermediate plate portion 103 extends parallel to the base upper plate portion 101 and is disposed horizontally.

[0059] The base extension plate portion 104 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends downward from the right edge of the base intermediate plate portion 103. The base extension plate portion 104 extends perpendicularly to the left-right direction.

[0060] The base lower plate portion 105 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends rightward from the lower edge of the base extension plate portion 104. The base lower plate portion 105 extends parallel to the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103 and is disposed horizontally. The base lower plate portion 105 of the moving base portion 81 is fixed to a retention base portion (not shown).

[0061] The first pin member 82 is supported by the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103 of the moving base portion 81. The first pin member 82 is provided on the front end side of the moving base portion 81. The first pin member 82 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0062] The second pin member 83 is supported by the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103 of the moving base portion 81. The second pin member 83 is provided on the rear end side of the moving base portion 81. The second pin member 83 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0063] The first link member 84 is a long, linear member that is arranged between the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103, and one end of the lengthwise direction is rotatably supported by the first pin member 82. The first link member 84 extends rightward and rearward from the first pin member 82.

[0064] The second link member 85 is a long, linear member that is arranged between the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103. One end of the second link member 85 in the longitudinal direction is supported by the second pin member 83 so as to be rotatable and movable a predetermined distance along the longitudinal direction. The second link member 85 extends rightward and forward from the second pin member 83.

[0065] The first link member 84 and the second link member 85 intersect at their respective intermediate portions in the longitudinal direction, and the coupling pin member 86 couples them at this intersecting portion. The coupling pin member 86 is aligned in the vertical direction. The first link member 84 and the second link member 85 are both rotatable about the coupling pin member 86.

[0066] The third pin member 87 is supported at the other end of the first link member 84 opposite to the first pin member 82 so as to be movable a predetermined distance along the length direction of the first link member 84. The third pin member 87 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0067] The fourth pin member 88 is provided at the other end of the second link member 85 opposite to the second pin member 83. The fourth pin member 88 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0068] The support member 89 is a long, linear member, one end of which in the longitudinal direction is supported by the third pin member 87, and the other end of which in the longitudinal direction is supported by the fourth pin member 88. In this state, the support member 89 extends in the front-rear direction, with its rear end side supported by the third pin member 87 and its front end side supported by the fourth pin member 88.

[0069] The support member 89 has an upper support plate portion 111, a side support plate portion 112, and a lower support plate portion 113.

[0070] The upper support plate portion 111 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction and is disposed horizontally.

[0071] The support side plate portion 112 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends downward from the right edge of the support upper plate portion 111. The support side plate portion 112 extends perpendicular to the left-right direction.

[0072] The lower support plate portion 113 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends leftward from the lower edge of the side support plate portion 112. The lower support plate portion 113 extends parallel to the upper support plate portion 111 and is disposed horizontally.

[0073] The support member 89 is supported at one end in the length direction of the support upper plate portion 111 and the support lower plate portion 113 by the third pin member 87, and is supported at the other end in the length direction of the support upper plate portion 111 and the support lower plate portion 113 by the fourth pin member 88. The end of the first link member 84 on the third pin member 87 side and the end of the second link member 85 on the fourth pin member 88 side are arranged between the upper support plate portion 111 and the lower support plate portion 113 of the support member 89.

[0074] On the side opposite to the upper support plate portion 111 and the lower support plate portion 113 of the support side plate portion 112 of the support member 89, namely, on the right-hand surface, the wall portion 71 is abutted and fixed at the abutment portion 76. At this time, the wall portion 71 is oriented such that the support portion 75 extends rightward, i.e. to the side opposite to the support member 89, from the abutment portion 76.

[0075] The moving block 90 is disposed between the upper support plate portion 111 and the lower support plate portion 113 of the support member 89, and is fixed at the position of the third pin member 87. A screw hole 115 is formed in the moving block 90 along the left-right direction.

[0076] The moving drive mechanism 91 includes a moving drive motor 121, a first moving drive pulley 122, a screw member 123, a second moving drive pulley 124, and a moving drive belt 125.

[0077] The moving drive motor 121 includes a drive shaft 127 and a motor body portion 128 that rotates the drive shaft 127.

[0078] The moving drive motor 121 is mounted on the portion of the moving base portion 81 located rearward of the second pin member 83. The motor body portion 128 of the moving drive motor 121 is fixed to the right side surface of the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81. The drive shaft 127 of the moving drive motor 121 projects leftward from the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81.

[0079] The first moving drive pulley 122 is fixed to the drive shaft 127 of the moving drive motor 121.

[0080] The screw member 123 penetrates the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81 and is rotatably supported by the base side plate portion 102. The screw member 123 is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the second pin member 83. The screw member 123 is threaded into the screw hole 115 of the moving block 90.

[0081] The second moving drive pulley 124 is fixed to the portion of the screw member 123 that protrudes leftward from the base side plate portion 102.

[0082] The moving drive belt 125 is wound around the first moving drive pulley 122 and the second moving drive pulley 124.

[0083] When the moving drive motor 121 rotates the drive shaft 127 in a first direction, the moving portion 72 causes the first moving drive pulley 122, the moving drive belt 125, the second moving drive pulley 124 and the screw member 123 to rotate in the first direction, thereby moving the moving block 90 to the right. Then, the moving portion 72 moves the wall portion 71 in a direction away from the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81, i.e., to the right, while the support member 89 coupled to the moving block 90 swings the first link member 84 and the second link member 85. Specifically, when the moving block 90 moves to the right, the third pin member 87 moves to the right, causing the first link member 84 to slide relative to the third pin member 87 and rotate around the first pin member 82. At this time, the coupling pin member 86 coupled to the first link member 84 rotates the second link member 85 about the second pin member 83 while sliding relative thereto, thereby moving the fourth pin member 88 to the right. As a result, the third pin member 87 and the fourth pin member 88 move rightward in synchronization. Consequently, the moving portion 72 moves the support member 89 and the wall portion 71 fixed to the support member 89 to the right while maintaining their posture, front-rear position, and up-down position.

[0084] When the moving drive motor 121 rotates the drive shaft 127 in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the moving portion 72 causes the first moving drive pulley 122, the moving drive belt 125, the second moving drive pulley 124 and the screw member 123 to rotate in the second direction, thereby moving the moving block 90 to the left. Then, the moving portion 72 moves the wall portion 71 in a direction approaching the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81, i.e., to the left, while the support member 89 coupled to the moving block 90 swings the first link member 84 and the second link member 85. Specifically, when the moving block 90 moves to the left, the third pin member 87 moves to the left, causing the first link member 84 to slide relative to the third pin member 87 and rotate around the first pin member 82. At this time, the coupling pin member 86 coupled to the first link member 84 rotates the second link member 85 about the second pin member 83 while sliding relative thereto, thereby moving the fourth pin member 88 to the left. As a result, the third pin member 87 and the fourth pin member 88 move leftward in synchronization. Consequently, the moving portion 72 moves the support member 89 and the wall portion 71 fixed to the support member 89 to the left while maintaining their posture, front-rear position, and up-down position. The moving portion 72 is a so-called pantograph mechanism.

[0085] In the adjusting portion 62, the moving portion 72 positions the wall portion 71 at a position that corresponds to the length of the short side of the paper sheets S to be bound. The wall portion 71 moves to a position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61, as shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, thereby adjusting the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61.<1-3. Transfer portion 63>

[0086] The position of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction is determined by the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62, whereby the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61. The transfer portion 63 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS thus placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 and the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53.

[0087] The transfer portion 63 is provided between the placement portion 61 and the adjusting portion 62.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 6, the transfer portion 63 has a first gripping member 131, a second gripping member 132, a transfer grip drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2, and a transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2. The transfer grip drive mechanism 133 raises and lowers the first gripping member 131 to cause the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 to perform gripping and release operations. The transfer drive mechanism 134 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6 back and forth.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 6, the first gripping member 131 extends in the front-rear direction.

[0090] The transfer grip drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2 raises and lowers the first gripping member 131 shown in FIG. 6.

[0091] The second gripping member 132 extends in the front-rear direction. The second gripping member 132 is provided vertically below the first gripping member 131, and has a grip main body portion 141, a support shaft 142, a movable block portion 143, and a spring member (not shown).

[0092] The grip main body portion 141 extends in the front-rear direction. The grip main body portion 141 extends forward beyond the first gripping member 131. The grip main body portion 141 has an upper surface that is aligned with the upper surface of the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 shown in FIG. 3.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 6, the support shaft 142 is provided at the front end of the grip main body portion 141 along the left-right direction.

[0094] The movable block portion 143 is supported by the support shaft 142 so as to be rotatable around the support shaft 142. The movable block portion 143 is rotatable between a forward-tilted state in which it extends forward from the grip main body portion 141 as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, and an upright state in which it stands up vertically above the grip main body portion 141 as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6A, the height position of the upper surface of the movable block portion 143 when it is in the forward-tilted state matches the height position of the upper surface of the grip main body portion 141.

[0095] A spring member (not shown) biases the movable block portion 143 to rotate so as to assume the upright position as shown in FIG. 6(b).

[0096] When accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on top of the movable block portion 143 as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the weight of the accumulated paper sheets SS causes the movable block portion 143 to rotate forward against the biasing force of a spring member (not shown) and assume the forward-tilted state. When the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the movable block portion 143 are removed as shown in FIG. 6B, the movable block portion 143 is brought into an upright position by the biasing force of a spring member (not shown).

[0097] The transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6 forward and backward together with the transfer grip drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 moves the grip main body portion 141 of the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6 in the front-rear direction while maintaining the vertical and horizontal positions.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 3, in the transfer portion 63, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are disposed between the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62. As shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the transfer portion 63 positions the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 at predetermined receiving positions in the forward / backward direction, and is in a standby state with the first gripping member 131 raised.

[0099] As described above, the transfer portion 63 is configured to grasp the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 with their long side positions determined in the accumulation mechanism 42 shown in FIG. 1 at a position a certain distance forward from their rear ends, depending on their types. The positions at which the accumulated paper sheets SS are gripped in this manner serve as the receiving position of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 in the front-rear direction. The transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 changes the receiving positions of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 depending on the size in the long side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, for accumulated paper sheets SS with a long long side length, compared to accumulated paper sheets SS with a shorter long side length, the receiving positions of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are set rearward by a distance equal to half the difference between the long side lengths.

[0100] When the transfer portion 63 is in a standby state as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 as shown in FIG. 3 are abutted at their long side at the left end against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62, so that their position in the short side direction is determined and they are placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71, the second gripping member 132 and the placement portion 61. Then, as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the movable block portion 143 of the second gripping member 132 assumes a forward-tilted state due to the weight of the accumulated paper sheets SS. Thereafter, the first gripping member 131 is lowered by the transfer gripping drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2, whereby the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 and the placement portion 61 are gripped from above and below by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132.

[0101] At this time, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 grip the center position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS, whose positions in the short side direction have been determined by being abutted against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 as shown in FIG. 4. In other words, the adjusting portion 62 positions the position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 as shown in FIG. 3 so that the center position of the short side of the accumulated paper sheets SS matches the gripping positions of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132.

[0102] When gripping the accumulated paper sheets SS, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 always grip a position at a fixed distance from the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, when the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 grip the accumulated paper sheets SS, their front-to-rear positions are adjusted by the transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 so that the distance L1 from the front end of the first gripping member 131 to the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS is constant, depending on the length of the long side of the accumulated paper sheets SS, as shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4.

[0103] By driving the transfer drive mechanism 134, the transfer portion 63 shown in FIG. 4 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, which are holding the accumulated paper sheets SS, forward a fixed distance regardless of the type of the accumulated paper sheets SS, thereby transferring the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53. As a result, regardless of the type of accumulated paper sheets SS, which are held at a position a certain distance forward from their rear ends by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, the binding position where the band T is wrapped by the binding portion 53 will be located at a position a certain distance L2 forward from their rear ends, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, regardless of the type of accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, the transfer portion 63 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS to the binding portion 53 so that the paper sheets are positioned in the long side direction at a position that is preset according to the type of the paper sheets. That is, the transfer portion 63 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS to the binding portion 53 so that the binding position where the band T is wrapped by the binding portion 53 is a position according to the length of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the long side direction.

[0104] The transfer portion 63 transfers the small bundle of paper sheets formed by binding the accumulated paper sheets SS in the binding portion 53 from the binding portion 53 to the discharge portion 54 located in front of the binding portion 53.<2. Binding portion 53>

[0105] As shown in FIG. 3, the binding portion 53 binds the accumulated paper sheets SS transferred by the transfer portion 63 from the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 into small bundles of paper sheets.

[0106] The binding portion 53 is disposed in front of the placement portion 61.

[0107] The binding portion 53 has a chuck mechanism 161, a pressing portion 162, a band supply portion 163, a band fixing portion 164, a cutter portion 165, a band pressing portion 166, and a heater portion 167.<2-1. Chuck mechanism 161>

[0108] As shown in FIG. 3, the chuck mechanism 161 receives the accumulated paper sheets SS transferred from the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 by the transfer portion 63.

[0109] As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10, the chuck mechanism 161 has a base portion 171 and a chuck portion 172.

[0110] The base portion 171 is provided in a fixed position relative to the housing 60 shown in FIG. 1.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 3, when the accumulated paper sheets SS are transferred from the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61 by the transfer portion 63, they are placed on the chuck portion 172. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the chuck portion 172 has a first chuck portion 175 and a second chuck portion 176.

[0112] The first chuck portion 175 has a chuck base portion 181 and a cover portion 182.

[0113] The chuck base portion 181 is attached to the upper surface of the base portion 171 so as to be fixed thereto.

[0114] As shown in FIG. 11, the chuck base portion 181 has a first inclined support portion 191, a second inclined support portion 192, a coupling portion 193, a first engaging protrusion portion 194, a second engaging protrusion portion 195, and multiple, specifically three, support protrusion portions 196.

[0115] As shown in FIG. 11, the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction. The first inclined support portion 191 constitutes the left side portion of the chuck base portion 181. The second inclined support portion 192 is located to the right of the first inclined support portion 191 and constitutes the right side of the chuck base portion 181. The coupling portion 193 couples the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 and forms the center portion of the chuck base portion 181 in the left-right direction.

[0116] The first inclined support portion 191 extends in the front-rear direction. The top surface of the first inclined support portion 191 is inclined relative to the horizontal so that the vertical height position becomes lower toward the left side, i.e., on the side opposite to the second inclined support portion 192.

[0117] The second inclined support portion 192 extends in the front-rear direction. The upper surface of the second inclined support portion 192 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the vertical height position becomes lower toward the right side, i.e., on the side opposite to the first inclined support portion 191.

[0118] The coupling portion 193 couples the lower portion of the first inclined support portion 191 and the lower portion of the second inclined support portion 192 together.

[0119] The chuck base portion 181 has a recessed portion 198 between the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192, which recesses downward from the upper end of the first inclined support portion 191 and the upper end of the second inclined support portion 192 to the position of the coupling portion 193. The recessed portion 198 extends in the front-rear direction and penetrates the chuck base portion 181 in the front-rear direction. The height of the upper end of the chuck base portion 181 is the same as the height of the upper surface of the grip main body portion 141 of the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 11, the first engaging protrusion portion 194 protrudes forward from the lower portion of the front end of the first inclined support portion 191.

[0121] The second engaging protrusion portion 195 protrudes forward from the lower part of the front end of the second inclined support portion 192.

[0122] As shown in FIG. 12, the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 all protrude downward from the lower part of the right end of the second inclined support portion 192. The multiple support protrusion portions 196 are aligned in the front-rear direction with their positions aligned in the left-right direction.

[0123] As shown in FIG. 11, the cover portion 182 is a plate member, and has a cover main body portion 200, an inclined plate portion 201, a first engaging portion 202, and a second engaging portion 203.

[0124] The cover main body portion 200 is generally flat and is disposed horizontally below the chuck base portion 181. The cover main body portion 200 abuts against the multiple support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181. At this time, a gap is provided in the vertical direction between the cover main body portion 200 and the chuck base portion 181 except for the plurality of support protrusion portions 196. The portions of the cover main body portion 200 that abut against the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 are reinforced by these support protrusion portions 196.

[0125] The inclined plate portion 201 extends from the front end portion of the cover main body portion 200 at an angle upward toward the front.

[0126] The first engaging portion 202 extends upward from the left portion of the front end of the inclined plate portion 201. The first engaging portion 202 is formed with a first engaging hole 204 that penetrates in the front-rear direction.

[0127] The second engaging portion 203 extends upward from the right portion of the front end of the inclined plate portion 201. The second engaging portion 203 is formed with a second engaging hole 205 that penetrates in the front-rear direction.

[0128] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the cover portion 182 is attached to the chuck base portion 181 so as to be fixed in place, with the first engaging protrusion portion 194 of the chuck base portion 181 inserted into the first engaging hole 204 of the first engaging portion 202 and the second engaging protrusion portion 195 of the chuck base portion 181 inserted into the second engaging hole 205 of the second engaging portion 203. In this fixed state, a gap is provided in the vertical direction between the upper portion of the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182 shown in FIG. 11 and the portion of the chuck base portion 181 excluding the plurality of support protrusion portions 196.

[0129] The second chuck portion 176 has a first adjustment plate 211, a second adjustment plate 212, a first fitting member 213, a second fitting member 214, a first shaft member 215 and a second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, and a chuck drive mechanism 217 shown in FIGS. 7 to 10.

[0130] As shown in FIG. 11, the first adjustment plate 211 is a plate-shaped member, and has a first chuck adjusting portion 221 and a first mounting portion 222.

[0131] The first chuck adjusting portion 221 is flat and disposed horizontally.

[0132] The first mounting portion 222 extends downward from the rear end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221. The first mounting portion 222 is flat and extends perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

[0133] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the first adjustment plate 211 is disposed below the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175. The first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 is disposed in the gap between the first inclined support portion 191 of the chuck base portion 181 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182.

[0134] As shown in FIG. 11, the second adjustment plate 212 is a plate-shaped member, and has a second chuck adjusting portion 231 and a second mounting portion 232.

[0135] The second chuck adjusting portion 231 is flat and disposed horizontally.

[0136] The second mounting portion 232 extends downward from the rear end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231. The second mounting portion 232 is flat and extends perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

[0137] The second chuck adjusting portion 231 has a plurality of, specifically three, passage grooves 233 formed therein. The plurality of passage grooves 233 all pass through the second chuck adjusting portion 231 in the vertical direction. Each of the plurality of passage grooves 233 is an elongated hole that is long in the left-right direction. The plurality of passage grooves 233 are aligned in the front-rear direction with their positions in the left-right direction aligned.

[0138] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the second adjustment plate 212 is disposed below the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175. The second adjustment plate 212 is disposed to the right of the first adjustment plate 211. Therefore, the second chuck adjusting portion 231 is disposed to the right of the first chuck adjusting portion 221. The second chuck adjusting portion 231 is disposed in the gap between the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. At this time, the second chuck adjusting portion 231 is disposed on the same plane as the first chuck adjusting portion 221. At this time, one of the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 is inserted into each of the plurality of passage grooves 233 shown in FIG. 11 of the second chuck adjusting portion 231. As a result, the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 pass through the plurality of passage grooves 233 and come into contact with the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182 from above.

[0139] The first fitting member 213 is attached to the rear surface of the first mounting portion 222 of the first adjustment plate 211 so as to be fixed. The first fitting member 213 is formed with a first through-hole 241 and a first screw hole 242. The first through-hole 241 is a straight hole whose inner circumferential surface is cylindrical, and penetrates the first fitting member 213 in the left-right direction. The first screw hole 242 has a female thread formed on the inner periphery thereof, is disposed below the first through-hole 241, and penetrates the first fitting member 213 in the left-right direction.

[0140] The second fitting member 214 is attached to the rear surface of the second mounting portion 232 of the second adjustment plate 212 so as to be fixed. The second fitting member 214 is formed with a second through-hole 246 and a second screw hole 247. The second through-hole 246 is a straight hole whole inner circumferential surface is cylindrical, and penetrates the second fitting member 214 in the left-right direction. The second through-hole 246 has the same diameter as the first through-hole 241 and is arranged coaxially with the first through-hole 241. The second screw hole 247 has a female thread formed on the inner periphery thereof, is disposed below the second through-hole 246, and penetrates the second fitting member 214 in the left-right direction. The second screw hole 247 is arranged coaxially with the first screw hole 242. The second screw hole 247 has a reverse-thread relationship with the first screw hole 242, in which the thread pitch is the same but the thread direction is opposite. Here, the first screw hole 242 is a right-hand thread, and the second screw hole 247 is a left-hand thread.

[0141] The first shaft member 215 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 is supported by the base portion 171. The first shaft member 215 is cylindrical with a cylindrical outer surface, and slidably fits into the first through-hole 241 of the first fitting member 213 and the second through-hole 246 of the second fitting member 214 shown in FIG. 11. In other words, the first shaft member 215 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 slidably supports the first fitting member 213 and the second fitting member 214 shown in FIG. 11.

[0142] The second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 is rotatably supported by the base portion 171. The second shaft member 216 has a first screw shaft portion 251 and a second screw shaft portion 252. In the second shaft member 216, the second screw shaft portion 252 is formed on the right side of the first screw shaft portion 251. The first screw shaft portion 251 and the second screw shaft portion 252 are coaxial and have a reverse-threaded relationship. The first screw shaft portion 251 is a right-hand thread and is screwed into the first screw hole 242 shown in FIG. 11, which is also a right-hand thread. The second screw shaft portion 252 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 is a left-hand thread, and is screwed into the second screw hole 247 shown in FIG. 11, which is also a left-hand thread.

[0143] As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the chuck drive mechanism 217 includes a chuck drive motor 261, a first chuck drive pulley 262, a second chuck drive pulley 263, and a chuck drive belt 264.

[0144] The chuck drive motor 261 has a drive shaft 267 and a motor main body portion 268 that rotates the drive shaft 267.

[0145] In the chuck drive motor 261, the motor main body portion 268 is fixed to the base portion 171 in an orientation such that the drive shaft 267 projects rightward.

[0146] The first chuck drive pulley 262 is fixed to the drive shaft 267 of the chuck drive motor 261.

[0147] The second chuck drive pulley 263 is fixed to the second shaft member 216.

[0148] The chuck drive belt 264 is wound around the first chuck drive pulley 262 and the second chuck drive pulley 263.

[0149] When the chuck drive motor 261 rotates the drive shaft 267 in a first direction, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, the second chuck drive pulley 263, and the second shaft member 216 in the first direction, moving the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 shown in FIG. 11 away from each other in the left-right direction. Then, the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 move away from each other in the left-right direction on the same horizontal plane, from the state shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 to the state shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. As a result, the second chuck portion 176 having the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 has a larger width in the left-right direction.

[0150] When the chuck drive motor 261 rotates the drive shaft 267 in the second direction opposite to the first direction, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, the second chuck drive pulley 263, and the second shaft member 216 in the second direction, moving the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 shown in FIG. 11 toward each other in the left-right direction. Then, the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 move toward each other in the left-right direction on the same horizontal plane, from the state shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 to the state shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. As a result, the second chuck portion 176 having the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 has a narrower width in the left-right direction.

[0151] As described above, the second chuck portion 176 has a pair of first and second adjustment plates 211 and 212 that are provided so as to be movable toward and away from each other. The first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 of the second chuck portion 176 are disposed below the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175 and are provided so as to be slidable relative to the chuck base portion 181. The second chuck portion 176 is provided movably relative to the first chuck portion 175 whose position is fixed relative to the base portion 171.

[0152] The second chuck portion 176 adjusts the spacing between the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 to a spacing that corresponds to the accumulated paper sheets SS to be bound. In other words, the second chuck portion 176 moves to a position corresponding to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be bound that are placed on the chuck portion 172.

[0153] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the adjusting portion 62 causes the central position in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS, placed on the support portion 75 and placement portion 61 and abutted against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71, to coincide with the central position X in the lateral direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172 of the binding portion 53, where the accumulated paper sheets SS will later be placed. That is, by the movement to a position corresponding to the size in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 and placement portion 61 in the state of abutting the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71, the adjusting portion 62 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 and the placement portion 61, so that the central position in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 and the placement portion 61 coincides with the central position X in the lateral direction of the first chuck portion 175 and second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172. The adjusting portion 62 adjusts the position of the abutment portion 76 by moving the wall portion 71 so that the distance from the center position X in the left-right direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 to the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 is W / 2, relative to the length W in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0154] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the second chuck portion 176 has a width corresponding to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction. That is, the second chuck portion 176 has a width that corresponds to the size in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS, so that it is wider for the accumulated paper sheets SS that are longer in the short-side direction as shown in part (a) of FIG. 4 than the accumulated paper sheets SS shown in part (b) of FIG. 4, and is narrower for the accumulated paper sheets SS that are shorter in the short-side direction as shown in part (c) of FIG. 4 than the accumulated paper sheets SS shown in part (b) of FIG. 4.<2-2. Pressing portion 162>

[0155] As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing portion 162 has a front pressing main body portion 271, a rear pressing main body portion 272, and a pressing drive mechanism 273 shown in FIG. 2.

[0156] As shown in FIG. 13, the front pressing main body portion 271 has a first front pressing piece 281 and a second front pressing piece 282. The first front pressing piece 281 and the second front pressing piece 282 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction.

[0157] The first front pressing piece 281 is disposed on the left side of the second front pressing piece 282. The first front pressing piece 281 is disposed vertically above the first inclined support portion 191 of the chuck base portion 181. The lower surface of the first front pressing piece 281 is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the first inclined support portion 191. That is, the lower surface of the first front pressing piece 281 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the left side, i.e., the side opposite the second front pressing piece 282, is lower in the up-down direction.

[0158] The second front pressing piece 282 is disposed vertically above the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181. The lower surface of the second front pressing piece 282 is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the second inclined support portion 192. That is, the lower surface of the second front pressing piece 282 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the right side, i.e., the side opposite the first front pressing piece 281, is lower in the up-down direction.

[0159] The rear pressing main body portion 272 shown in FIG. 3 has a first rear pressing piece (not shown) and a second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6. The first rear pressing piece (not shown) and the second rear pressing piece 286 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction.

[0160] The first rear pressing piece (not shown) is disposed on the left side of the second rear pressing piece 286. The first rear pressing piece (not shown) is disposed vertically above the first inclined support portion 191 of the chuck base portion 181, similar to the first front pressing piece 281 shown in FIG. 13. The lower surface of the first rear pressing piece (not shown) is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the first inclined support portion 191. That is, the lower surface of the first rear pressing piece (not shown) is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the position in the up-down direction becomes lower toward the left side. The lower surface of the first rear pressing piece (not shown) is arranged on the same plane as the lower surface of the first front pressing piece 281, with the positions aligned vertically and horizontally.

[0161] The second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6 is disposed vertically above the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181, similar to the second front pressing piece 282 shown in FIG. 13. The lower surface of the second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6 is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the second inclined support portion 192 shown in FIG. 13. That is, the lower surface of the second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the position in the up-down direction becomes lower toward the right side. The lower surface of the second rear pressing piece 286 is arranged on the same plane as the lower surface of the second front pressing piece 282 shown in FIG. 13, with the positions aligned vertically and horizontally.

[0162] The pressing drive mechanism 273 shown in FIG. 2 integrally raises and lowers the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 shown in FIG. 6. As shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the pressing portion 162 is in a standby state when the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 are positioned at the upper limit position furthest away from the chuck portion 172.

[0163] In the standby state in which the pressing portion 162 positions the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 at the upper limit position, the transfer portion 63 grasps the accumulated paper sheets SS, which have been positioned in the short-side direction by the adjusting portion 62, at the center in the short-side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, from above and below with the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, and transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS forward while maintaining their left-right position. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the chuck base portion 181 such that the center position in the short side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, coincides with the center position X in the left-right direction of the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175, which also coincides with the center position X in the left-right direction between the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second chuck portion 176. The binding portion 53 bundles the accumulated paper sheets SS placed in this manner on the chuck base portion 181 of the chuck portion 172.

[0164] From a state in which the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the chuck base portion 181, the pressing portion 162 shown in FIG. 6 lowers the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272, together with the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181, clamp the accumulated paper sheets SS from above and below, deforming them into a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape configuration in which the center portion in the short side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, is curved, the left side of this center is slanted downward to the left, and the right side of this center is slanted downward to the right.

[0165] At this time, the left end of the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172, i.e., the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221, is located vertically below or slightly to the left of the lower end of the left side of the accumulated paper sheets SS, and the right end, i.e., the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231, is located vertically below or slightly to the right of the lower end of the right side of the accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, when the type of item to be bound is set, the second chuck portion 176 adjusts the distance between the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to a distance that is the same length as the distance between the bottom left end and bottom right end of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be bound when gripped by the pressing portion 162 and the chuck portion 172, or a distance that is slightly longer than this distance by a predetermined amount. As a result, in the second chuck portion 176, when accumulated paper sheets SS with a long length in the short-side direction as shown in part (a) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding, the distance between the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231 becomes wider compared to when accumulated paper sheets SS with a length in the short-side direction as shown in part (b) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding. In addition, when accumulated paper sheets SS with a short length in the short-side direction as shown in part (c) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding, the distance between the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231 becomes narrower in the second chuck portion 176 compared to when accumulated paper sheets SS with a length in the short-side direction as shown in part (b) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding.<2-3. Band supply portion 163>

[0166] As shown in FIG. 13, the band supply portion 163 has a band roll setting portion 291. The band supply portion 163 also includes a band supply drive mechanism 292 shown in FIG. 2 and a band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6.

[0167] As shown in FIG. 13, the band roll setting portion 291 is provided to the left of the chuck portion 172. The band roll setting portion 291 has a band setting shaft 295. The band setting shaft 295 extends in the front-rear direction. In the band roll setting portion 291, a band roll TR formed by winding a band T, which is a binding tape, into a roll is set on the band setting shaft 295. The band roll TR is set on the band setting shaft 295 in a direction in which the band T is unwound from the top to the right.

[0168] The band supply drive mechanism 292 shown in FIG. 2 has band supply rollers (not shown) that clamp the band T extending from the band roll TR set on the band setting shaft 295 shown in FIG. 13 from both sides in the thickness direction. The band supply drive mechanism 292 pulls out and unwinds the band T from the band roll TR by rotating a band supply roller (not shown) in the forward direction, and pulls back the unwound band T by rotating the band supply roller in the reverse direction.

[0169] The band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T that is unwound from the band roll TR shown in FIG. 13 by the band supply drive mechanism 292. The band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T pulled out and unwound from the band roll TR shown in FIG. 13 by the band supply drive mechanism 292 so that, as shown schematically in FIG. 13, the band T moves to the right, passes above the chuck portion 172, moves downward on the right side of the chuck portion 172, moves leftward below the chuck portion 172, moves upward on the left side of the chuck portion 172, moves rightward above the chuck portion 172, moves downward on the right side of the chuck portion 172, and moves leftward below the chuck portion 172. At this time, the band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T so that the front-end side is wound around more inward than the rear-end side, as shown in FIG. 13. At this time, the band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T so that the band T moves at a predetermined fixed position in the front-rear direction. This fixed position is the binding position where the binding portion 53 wraps the band T around the accumulated paper sheets SS. As shown in FIG. 6, this binding position is between the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 of the pressing portion 162.

[0170] It should be noted that in the band supply portion 163 shown in FIG. 13, the axial direction of the band setting shaft 295 coincides with the long-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS during binding, and moreover the axial position of the band roll TR set on the band setting shaft 295 coincides with the binding position. The band supply portion 163 supplies the band T to the chuck portion 172 by moving the band T at a predetermined fixed position in the front-rear direction without twisting it along the way, in other words, always keeping the width direction aligned with the front-rear direction. As a result, the band T is prevented from becoming twisted and curled.<2-4. Band fixing portion 164>

[0171] The band fixing portion 164 has a band fixing member 301 and a band fixing drive mechanism 302 shown in FIG. 2.

[0172] As shown in FIG. 13, the band fixing member 301 is a plate-like member that extends perpendicularly to the left-right direction. The band fixing member 301 is disposed at the binding position in the front-rear direction, and is disposed vertically below the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175. The band fixing member 301 has an upper surface that spreads horizontally, extending in the front-rear direction. The band fixing member 301 has a passage hole 303 penetrating in the left-right direction at a predetermined distance downward from the upper surface thereof. The passage hole 303 is long in the front-rear direction, and has a width in the front-rear direction that allows the band T to pass through.

[0173] The band fixing drive mechanism 302 shown in FIG. 2 drives the band fixing member 301 shown in FIG. 13 to move up and down linearly while maintaining the state described above. The band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 of the above-mentioned band supply portion 163 guides the band T moving to the left below the chuck portion 172 so that it enters the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301 positioned at the lower limit position in a standby state, where the vertical position of the band fixing member 301 is interrupted, so as not to interfere with the lifting and lowering of the band fixing member 301 shown in FIG. 13. The band fixing drive mechanism 302 shown in FIG. 2 raises the band fixing member 301 shown in FIG. 13 from a standby state, thereby pressing the front-end portion of the band T against the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182 with the upper surface of the band fixing member 301. As a result, the front-end portion of the band T is clamped between the upper surface of the band fixing member 301 and the lower surface of the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. Here, the portion of the cover main body portion 200 that clamps the front-end portion of the band T together with the band fixing member 301 abuts against the support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 and is thereby reinforced by the support protrusion portions 196. As a result, the support protrusion portions 196 suppress deflection of the cover main body portion 200 when the front-end portion of the band T is clamped with the band fixing member 301.<2-5. Cutter portion 165>

[0174] The cutter portion 165 has a cutter 311 and a cutter drive mechanism 312 shown in FIG. 2.

[0175] As shown in FIG. 13, the cutter 311 is provided near the left side of the band fixing member 301. The cutter 311 is provided at the binding position in the front-rear direction.

[0176] The cutter drive mechanism 312 shown in FIG. 2 moves the cutter 311 shown in FIG. 13 up and down linearly while keeping it positioned near the left side of the band fixing member 301. The cutter portion 165 has a cutter drive mechanism 312 shown in FIG. 2 that raises the cutter 311 shown in FIG. 13 relative to the band fixing member 301, causing the cutter 311 to cut the band T inserted into the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301.<2-6. Band pressing portion 166>

[0177] The band pressing portion 166 includes a band pressing member 321 and a band pressing drive mechanism 322 shown in FIG. 2.

[0178] As shown in FIG. 13, the band pressing member 321 has a pressing member main body portion 325 and a support shaft 326. The band pressing member 321 is provided at the binding position in the front-rear direction.

[0179] The support shaft 326 is provided to the left of the band fixing member 301 and the cutter 311 and is fixed in position relative to the housing 60 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 13, the support shaft 326 extends in the front-rear direction. The pressing member main body portion 325 is a plate-shaped member that extends rightward from the support shaft 326, that is, in the direction of the band fixing member 301 and the cutter 311. The pressing member main body portion 325 extends along the support shaft 326. As shown in FIG. 13, the band pressing member 321 is in a standby state in which the portion of the pressing member main body portion 325 opposite the support shaft 326 is lower than the support shaft 326.

[0180] The band pressing drive mechanism 322 shown in FIG. 2 rotates the pressing member main body portion 325 around the support shaft 326 so as to raise and lower the right end of the pressing member main body portion 325 shown in FIG. 13. The band pressing drive mechanism 322 shown in FIG. 2 raises the right end of the pressing member main body portion 325 of the band pressing member 321, which is in the standby state as shown in FIG. 13. As a result, the right end of the band pressing member 321 clamps, together with the cover main body portion 200, both the rear-end portion of the band T on the cut side and the front-end portion after it has been cut by the cutter 311.<2-7. Heater portion 167>

[0181] The heater portion 167 has a heater main body portion 331 and a heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2.

[0182] As shown in FIG. 13, the heater main body portion 331 is inclined downward to the left, and the upper surface extends horizontally. The heater main body portion 331 generates heat mainly from its upper surface. The heater main body portion 331 is provided at the binding position in the front-rear direction.

[0183] The heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2 drives the heater main body portion 331 shown in FIG. 13 to move up in a straight line to the upper right and move down in a straight line to the lower left while maintaining the above state. The heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2 moves the heater main body portion 331 shown in FIG. 13 toward the portion of the cover main body portion 200 reinforced by the support protrusion portions 196 when raised. The heater main body portion 331 shown in FIG. 13, which has been raised by the heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2, heats and thermally bonds the rear-end portion on the cut side and the front-end portion of the band T, which are in a state of being clamped between the band pressing member 321 and the cover main body portion 200, after being cut by the cutter 311, while being held in place with the cover main body portion 200. Here, the portion of the cover main body portion 200 portion that holds the front-end portion and the rear-end portion of the band T together with the heater main body portion 331 is in contact with the support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base 181, and is reinforced by the support protrusion portions 196. As a result, the support protrusion portions 196 suppress deflection of the cover main body portion 200 when the front-end portion and rear-end portion of the band T are clamped with the heater main body portion 331.<3. Discharge portion 54>

[0184] As shown in FIG. 3, the discharge portion 54 discharges the small bundles of paper sheets produced by the binding portion 53 to the outside of the paper sheet binding device 4 from a bundle discharge port 340 formed on the front surface of the housing 60.

[0185] As shown in FIG. 6, the discharge portion 54 has an upper discharge belt 341 and a lower discharge belt 342, and also has a belt swing drive mechanism 343 and a discharge drive mechanism 344 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342 are both provided in front of the chuck portion 172.

[0186] As shown in FIG. 3, the upper discharge belt 341 has a first upper discharge belt body 351 and a second upper discharge belt body 352, and has a plurality of upper discharge pulleys 353 as shown in FIG. 6.

[0187] As shown in FIG. 3, the first upper discharge belt body 351 is disposed on the left side of the second upper discharge belt body 352. The first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 are wound around a plurality of upper discharge pulleys 353 shown in FIG. 6, and thus extend in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction.

[0188] As shown in FIG. 6, the lower discharge belt 342 has a first lower discharge belt body (not shown), a second lower discharge belt body 356, and a plurality of lower discharge pulleys 357.

[0189] The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) is disposed on the left side of the second lower discharge belt body 356. The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) and the second lower discharge belt body 356 are wound around a plurality of lower discharge pulleys 357, and thus both extend in the front-rear direction. The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) and the second lower discharge belt body 356 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction. The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) is positioned vertically below the first upper discharge belt body 351 shown in FIG. 3, and the second lower discharge belt body 356 shown in FIG. 6 is positioned vertically below the second upper discharge belt body 352.

[0190] The belt swing drive mechanism 343 shown in FIG. 2 raises and lowers the rearmost upper discharge pulley 353 shown in FIG. 6, thereby raising and lowering the rear ends of the first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 shown in FIG. 3. The upper discharge belt 341 is in a standby state when the rearmost upper discharge pulley 353 is raised or lowered.

[0191] The discharge drive mechanism 344 shown in FIG. 2 rotates the upper discharge pulley 353 shown in FIG. 6 so as to move the lower edges of the first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 shown in FIG. 3 forward.

[0192] When the discharge portion 54 is in a standby state and a small bundle of paper sheets is pushed forward from the binding portion 53, the upper discharge belt 341 is driven by the discharge drive mechanism 344 shown in FIG. 2, and the belt swing drive mechanism 343 lowers the rearmost upper discharge pulley 353 shown in FIG. 6. As a result, the upper discharge belt 341 clamps the small bundle of paper sheets pushed out from the binding portion 53 between itself and the lower discharge belt 342 and moves it forward, releasing it outside the paper sheet binding device 4 from the bundle discharge port 340 shown in FIG. 3. The discharge portion 54 can also temporarily store a small bundle of paper sheets by stopping the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342 while sandwiching the bundle, making it possible to discharge a small bundle of paper sheets from the bundle discharge port 340 at any time.

[0193] Next, the operation of the counting and binding process for producing small bundles of paper sheets by the paper sheet processing device 1 will be described.

[0194] In this case, in the paper sheet processing device 1, first, the denomination of the small bundle of sheets to be produced by the paper sheet binding device 4 through the binding process is set. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, an operation to select the counting and binding process is input on the operation display portion 25 provided on the paper sheet counting device 2, and the type of paper sheets S subject to the counting and binding process, i.e., the type of small bundle of paper sheets to be produced, for example, "yen" as the currency type, and the denomination of "yen", for example, 10,000 yen, is selected and input. Then, the control portion 26 provided in the paper sheet counting device 2 sets this denomination as the denomination of the small bundle of sheets to be produced. Hereinbelow, this set denomination will be referred to as the first denomination.

[0195] The control portion 26 controls the paper sheet binding device 4 in accordance with the set first denomination.

[0196] The paper sheet binding device 4 first moves the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 by the moving portion 72 to a position corresponding to the size of the first denomination of paper sheet S (see parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4). In other words, the paper sheet binding device 4 moves the wall portion 71 using the moving portion 72 so that the center position in the short-side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, of the accumulated paper sheets SS of the first denomination, which will be placed on the placement portion 61 during the counting and binding process, coincides with the center position X in the left-right direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172.

[0197] In addition, the paper sheet binding device 4 drives the chuck drive mechanism 217 shown in FIG. 9 to rotate the second shaft member 216 in one direction or the other, thereby moving the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 to positions corresponding to the size of the paper sheets S of the first denomination (see FIGS. 8 to 10). In other words, the paper sheet binding device 4 moves the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 to positions according to the size of the paper sheets S of the first denomination placed on the chuck base portion 181. Specifically, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the drive shaft 267 in a first direction using the chuck drive motor 261, thereby rotating the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, the second chuck drive pulley 263 and the second shaft member 216 in the first direction, thereby moving the first fitting member 213 in which the first screw shaft portion 251 is screwed into the first screw hole 242 and the first adjustment plate 211 fixed thereto, and the second fitting member 214 in which the second screw shaft portion 252 is screwed into the first screw hole 242 and the second adjustment plate 212 fixed thereto, away from each other in the left-right direction, thereby moving the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to positions corresponding to the size in the short-side direction of the paper sheets S of the first denomination. Alternatively, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the drive shaft 267 in a second direction using the chuck drive motor 261, moving the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 so that they approach each other in the left-right direction, thereby moving the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to positions corresponding to the size in the short-side direction of the paper sheets S of the first denomination.

[0198] Furthermore, as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the paper sheet binding device 4 positions the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 at a receiving position corresponding to the size in the long-side direction of the first denomination of paper sheets S, and puts them into a standby state.

[0199] The paper sheet processing device 1 is then controlled by the control portion 26 to perform the following counting and accumulation process.

[0200] That is, first, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper sheets S are set in the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2, and when the "Start counting and binding" button on the operation display portion 25 is operated, the input port 11 separates and takes in the set paper sheets S one by one, the leftward extension portion 21a and upward extension portion 21b of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21 convey them, and the identification portion 22 performs identification and counting. When the "Stop" button on the operation display portion 25 is operated, the paper sheet counting device 2 stops taking in the paper sheets. The paper sheet counting device 2 may be configured so that the input port 11 automatically takes in the paper sheet S when a set detection portion (not shown) provided in the input port 11 detects that the paper sheets S have been set in the input port 11.

[0201] The paper sheet processing device 1 conveys the specific paper sheets S, i.e., paper sheets S of the first denomination, set as the target for binding among the paper sheets S that have been determined to be acceptable by the identification portion 22, to the accumulation mechanism 42 of the paper sheet binding device 4 via the upward extension portion 21b and leftward extension portion 21c of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21, the coupling conveyance portion 31A of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the coupling conveyance portion 41A and branch conveyance portion 41B of the binding device internal conveyance portion 41 of the paper sheet binding device 4. On the other hand, the paper sheet processing device 1 conveys and stores paper sheets S other than the specific paper sheets S that have been determined to be acceptable by the identification portion 22, as well as paper sheets S that have been determined to be unacceptable by the identification portion 22, to the reject portion 12 using the upward extension portion 21b and the branch extension portion 21d.

[0202] The paper sheet processing device 1 may convey the paper sheets S determined to be unacceptable by the identification portion 22 to the reject portion 12. On the other hand, the paper sheet processing device 1 may convey and store paper sheets S other than the specific paper sheets S set as the target for binding among the paper sheets S determined to be acceptable by the identification portion 22 from the upward extension portion 21b and leftward extension portion 21c of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21 to a predetermined accumulation portion 32 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 by the coupling conveyance portion 31A and branch conveyance portion 31B of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3.

[0203] As described above, the accumulation mechanism 42 causes the paper sheets S sequentially discharged from the branch conveyance portion 41B to abut against a positioning wall (not shown) to align their positions in the short-side direction. At the same time, the accumulation mechanism 42 aligns the positions of the paper sheets S sequentially discharged from the branch conveyance portion 41B in the long-side direction by tapping them from both sides using a jogging mechanism (not shown) that strokes in accordance with the long-side length of the first denomination. Then, the paper sheets S are accumulated vertically with the center position in the long-side direction positioned at the reference position in the front-rear direction.

[0204] When a predetermined number of paper sheets S, specifically 100 sheets, are accumulated in the accumulation mechanism 42, the paper sheet binding device 4 performs the following binding process under the control of the control portion 26.

[0205] In the binding process, first, the conveyance mechanism 45 of the paper sheet binding device 4 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS accumulated in the accumulation mechanism 42 to the transfer portion 63 as shown in FIG. 3. That is, in the conveyance mechanism 45, first, the gripping portion 46 shown in FIG. 1 moves forward by being driven by the gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48, and then grips the accumulated paper sheets SS stacked in the accumulation mechanism 42 by being driven by the gripping operation drive mechanism 47. Next, in the conveyance mechanism 45, the gripping portion 46 moves to the right via the driving of the gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48, pulls out the gripped accumulated paper sheets SS from the accumulation mechanism 42, and then, after moving downward via the driving of the gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48, moves leftward as shown in FIG. 3 to convey the gripped accumulated paper sheets SS between the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 in a standby state located on the left, and places them on the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62.

[0206] During this time, the gripping portion 46 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS while keeping the central position in the long-side direction aligned with the reference position in the front-rear direction. The gripping portion 46 then abuts the accumulated paper sheets SS against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71, causing the paper sheets to be placed on the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62. As a result, the left-right center position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 coincides with the central position X in the left-right direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172. Furthermore, the central position in the front-rear direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 coincides with the reference position in the front-rear direction. When the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71, they are also placed on the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63, which is in a standby state, as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, and the movable block portion 143 is rotated to be in a forward-tilted state in which it is aligned in the same straight line with the grip main body portion 141.

[0207] In the paper sheet binding device 4, in parallel with the aforementioned conveyance of the accumulated paper sheets SS, as shown in FIG. 13, the band supply portion 163 rotates the band supply roller (not shown) in the forward direction by driving the band supply drive mechanism 292, thereby pulling out the band T from the band roll TR and feeding it toward the band fixing portion 164. Then, the leading end of the band T, which was formed by the cutting operation of the cutter 311 in the previous binding process and is located near the right side of the cutter 311, is guided by the band guide portion 293 to extend to the left from the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301, circle around the first chuck portion 175 of the chuck portion 172 in the order of leftward, upward, rightward, downward, and leftward, pass between the band fixing member 301 and the cover portion 182 of the first chuck portion 175, and extend to the space between the band pressing member 321 and the cover portion 182.

[0208] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the band fixing portion 164 raises the band fixing member 301 by the driving of the band pressing drive mechanism 322, and clamps the front end of the band T between the upper end of the band fixing member 301 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. At this time, the band fixing member 301 clamps the front end of the band T against a portion of the cover main body portion 200 that is reinforced by the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181.

[0209] In the above state, the paper sheet binding device 4 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53 by the transfer portion 63, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0210] That is, first, the transfer portion 63 lowers the first gripping member 131 of the transfer portion 63 that is in a standby state as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6 by the driving of the transfer grip drive mechanism 133. As a result, the accumulated paper sheets SS, which are abutting against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 and placed on the support portion 75 of the placement portion 61 and the wall portion 71 as shown in FIG. 3, are clamped between the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132. At this time, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 grip the central position in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS. Furthermore, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 grip the accumulated paper sheets SS at a position to the front of the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS, spaced at a specified distance depending on the length in the long-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0211] Next, the paper sheet binding device 4 releases the grip of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the gripping portion 46, through the driving of the gripping operation drive mechanism 47 of the conveyance mechanism 45. Thereafter, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the transfer portion 63 advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 a certain distance by means of the driving of the transfer drive mechanism 134 while keeping their positions in the left-right and up-down directions unchanged. As a result, the accumulated paper sheets SS gripped by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are positioned between the pressing portion 162 and the chuck portion 172, which are in a standby state as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, with the central position in the left-right direction coinciding with the central position X in the left-right center position of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172. At this time, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, the accumulated paper sheets SS are arranged so that the binding position of the band T by the binding portion 53 is located at a position a certain predetermined distance L2 forward from the rear end. When the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 move forward, the second gripping member 132 moves within the recessed portion 198 of the chuck base portion 181 shown in FIG. 3.

[0212] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the pressing portion 162 lowers the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 by the driving the pressing drive mechanism 273 as shown in FIG. 13. Then, as shown the front pressing main body portion 271 in FIG. 13, the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272, together with the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181, deform the accumulated paper sheets SS into a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape in which the center portion in the left-right direction is curved, the left side of this center portion slopes downward to the left, and the right side of this center portion slopes downward to the right. When the accumulated paper sheets SS are deformed in this manner, the lower left end is located vertically above or slightly to the right of the left end of the second chuck portion 176 arranged to correspond to the first denomination of the chuck portion 172, i.e., the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221, and the lower right end is located vertically above or slightly to the left of the right end of the second chuck portion 176 arranged to correspond to the first denomination, i.e., the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231. In other words, the accumulated paper sheets SS are covered at the lower left and right ends by the second chuck portion 176 from vertically below.

[0213] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the transfer portion 63, by the driving of the transfer gripping drive mechanism 133, raises the first gripping member 131, thereby releasing the grip of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132. Next, the transfer portion 63 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 to the receiving position by the driving of the transfer drive mechanism 134, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, and returns to the standby state. When the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are positioned at the receiving position, the second gripping member 132 moves rearward away from the accumulated paper sheets SS, causing the movable block portion 143 to rotate around the support shaft 142 due to the biasing force of a spring member not shown, thereby assuming an upright position rising up from the grip main body portion 141.

[0214] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the band supply portion 163 shown in FIG. 13 reversely rotates the band supply roller (not shown) by the driving of the band supply drive mechanism 292, thereby pulling back the fed-out band T. Then, the band T, the front end of which is clamped and fixed between the band fixing member 301 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover part 182, is pulled back toward the band roll TR as part of it passes through the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301, and is wrapped around and tightened around the upper parts of the left and right ends of the accumulated paper sheets SS, the lower left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the lower right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231, and the underside of the cover main body portion 200, as shown in FIG. 14. As a result, the upper part of the band T imitates a shape that conforms to the shape of the upper surface of the accumulated paper sheets SS. At this time, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, the band T is wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS at a position located a predetermined distance L2 forward from the rear end, regardless of the length in the of the long side of the accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, the transfer portion 63 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS toward the binding portion 53 such that the binding position of the band T by the binding portion 53 is at a constant position that is a predetermined distance L2 from the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS regardless of the length of the long side of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0215] As shown in FIG. 14, since the lower left and lower right ends of the accumulated paper sheets SS are covered by the second chuck portion 176, they do not come into contact with the band T that is wrapped around and tightened as described above. In other words, the second chuck portion 176 restricts contact between the band T and the end portions opposite the center of bending in the thickness direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS on both sides in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS. Therefore, the lower left and lower right ends of the accumulated paper sheets SS do not rub against the band T, and so are not turned up by the band T when the band T is wound up.

[0216] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the band pressing portion 166 shown in FIG. 13 rotates the band pressing member 321 around the support shaft 326 by the driving of the band pressing drive mechanism 322, thereby raising the tip of the pressing member main body portion 325 on the side opposite the support shaft 326. Then, the tip of the pressing member main body portion 325 clamps and fixes both the front-end portion of the band T located below the undersurface of the cover main body portion 200 and the middle portion located below this portion between itself and the undersurface of the cover main body portion 200.

[0217] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the cutter portion 165 raises the cutter 311 by the driving of the cutter drive mechanism 312, and cuts the middle portion of the band T near the left side of the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301. Even when cut in this manner, the band T wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS does not loosen because the rear-end portion, which is the side cut by the cutter 311, and the front-end portion opposite this portion are clamped and fixed between the pressing member main body portion 325 and the cover main body portion 200.

[0218] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the cutter portion 165 lowers the cutter 311 by the driving of the cutter drive mechanism 312, and the band fixing portion 164 lowers the band fixing member 301 by the driving of the band fixing drive mechanism 302. Thereafter, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the heater portion 167, by the driving of the heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332, raises the heater main body portion 331 and positions it at the bonding position. Then, the heater main body portion 331 clamps the rear-end portion of the portion of the band T wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS, which extends to the right of the pressing member main body portion 325, and the front-end portion opposite this rear-end portion, between itself and the underside of the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. As a result, the rear-end portion and the front-end portion of the band T are thermally bonded together by the heat of the heater main body portion 331. At this time, the heater main body portion 331 clamps the cut-side portion and front-end portion of the band T against the portion of the cover main body portion 200 reinforced by the multiple support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base 181.

[0219] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the heater portion 167, by the driving of the heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332, lowers the heater main body portion 331 to position it at the standby position. At the same time, the band pressing portion 166, by the driving of the band pressing drive mechanism 322, rotates the band pressing member 321 to lower the tip end of the pressing member main body portion 325 on the side opposite the support shaft 326 to the standby position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the band T is wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS, the second chuck portion 176, and the cover main body portion 200, whereby the rear-end portion and the front-end portion are fixed.

[0220] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, by the driving of the chuck drive mechanism 217, the second chuck portion 176 causes the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to approach each other. Specifically, the chuck drive motor 261 shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 rotates the drive shaft 267 in the second direction, thereby rotating the second shaft member 216 in the second direction via the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, and the second chuck drive pulley 263. As a result, the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211 screwed onto the first screw shaft portion 251 of the second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 at the first screw hole 242 shown in FIG. 11, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 screwed onto the second screw shaft portion 252 of the second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 at the second screw hole 247 shown in FIG. 11 move closer to each other, bringing the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 closer to each other.

[0221] In this way, the second chuck portion 176 moves in the approaching direction after the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172 are bound by the binding portion 53 as shown in FIG. 14. As a result, the state in which the band T wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS is pressed by the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second chuck portion 176 is released. As a result, the clamping force of the band T on the accumulated paper sheets SS and the chuck portion 172 is slightly loosened. This makes it easier to remove the band T from the chuck portion 172. At this time, the band T is in contact with the cover main body portion 200 of the first chuck portion 175 of the chuck portion 172.

[0222] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the pressing portion 162, by the driving of the pressing drive mechanism 273, raises the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272, returning the device to the standby state. Even in this state, the accumulated paper sheets SS are pressed against the upper surfaces of the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181 by the tension of the band T, causing the central portion in the left-right direction to curve, with the left side from this central portion sloping downward to the left, and the right side from this central portion sloping downward to the right, thereby maintaining a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape.

[0223] Next, a bundle discharge process is carried out.

[0224] That is, in the paper sheet binding device 4, first, the transfer portion 63, by the driving of the transfer drive mechanism 134, advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, which have been retracted to the receiving position as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, a fixed distance forward regardless of the type of accumulated paper sheets SS. As a result, the second gripping member 132 pushes the accumulated paper sheets SS from the rear to the front by the movable block portion 143 in the upright position. Then, the accumulated paper sheets SS move forward together with the band T due to the frictional force caused by the tension of the band T wrapped around them, and the band T is released forward from the chuck portion 172. At this time, the second gripping member 132 also moves within the recessed portion 198 of the chuck base portion 181.

[0225] In this way, when the accumulated paper sheets SS and the band T move forward together and the band T is released forward from the chuck portion 172, the portion of the band T that was wound around the cover main body portion 200 becomes slack. As a result, the accumulated paper sheets SS, which had previously been pressed against the upper surfaces of the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181 by the band T, forming a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape, return to a flat state. In this manner, the accumulated paper sheets SS are bound with the band T to form a small bundle of sheets.

[0226] In the bundle discharge process, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the second gripping member 132, which is moving further forward, pushes the small bundle of sheets prepared as described above from the chuck portion 172 toward the discharge portion 54.

[0227] In the paper sheet binding device 4, during the bundle discharge process, the transfer portion 63 advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, and in parallel therewith, the discharge portion 54 rotates the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342 by the driving of the discharge drive mechanism 344. At the same time, the paper sheet binding device 4 lowers the upper discharge pulley 353 at the rear end by the driving of the belt swing drive mechanism 343. Within the upper discharge belt 341, the upper discharge pulley 353 at the rear end had previously been positioned in the upper limit standby position, facilitating smooth entry of the accumulated paper sheets SS. As a result, the small bundle of paper sheets moved forward by the transfer portion 63 is clamped between the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342, moved further forward, and discharged outside the paper sheet binding device 4 from the bundle discharge port 340 formed in the housing 60.

[0228] The paper sheet binding device 4 advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 to a predetermined position, transfers the small bundle of paper sheets to the discharge portion 54, and then moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 backward to the receiving position, placing them in the standby state. In addition, after discharging the small bundle of paper sheets from the bundle discharge port 340, the paper sheet binding device 4 stops the discharge drive mechanism 344 to stop the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342, and by the driving of the belt swing drive mechanism 343, raises the upper discharge pulley 353 at the rear end of the upper discharge belt 341 to return it to the standby position.

[0229] According to the paper sheet binding device 4 described above, the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 are placed onto a placement position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the retention portion 52 of the binding mechanism 51, and then transferred to the binding portion 53, where they are bound by the binding portion 53. Therefore, even when small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes are produced, the paper sheet binding device 4 can perform binding according to the size, and can produce small bundles of paper sheets well.

[0230] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, when the retention portion 52 places the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 on the placement portion 61, the adjusting portion 62, which is movable relative to the placement portion 61, adjusts the loading position of the accumulated paper sheets SS according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be placed on the placement portion 61. Then, the transfer portion 63 transports the paper sheets S placed on the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53, and the binding portion 53 bundles the paper sheets S. Therefore, even when small bundles of paper sheets of multiple sizes are produced, the paper sheet binding device 4 can more effectively perform binding according to size, enabling the production of small bundles of paper sheets with improved quality.

[0231] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the adjusting portion 62 moves to a position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61, adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61, and aligns the central position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 with the central position X of the chuck portion 172 on which the accumulated paper sheets SS transferred from the adjusting portion 62 by the transfer portion 63 are placed. Therefore, even when small bundles of paper sheets of multiple sizes are produced, the paper sheet binding device 4 can more effectively perform binding according to size, enabling the production of small bundles of paper sheets with improved quality.

[0232] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the adjusting portion 62 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 by moving the wall portion 71 that abuts against the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 when placing the accumulated paper sheets SS on the placement portion 61, using the moving portion 72 to move the wall portion 71 in accordance with the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be placed on the placement portion 61. Therefore, even when producing small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes, the paper sheet binding device 4 can effectively perform binding in accordance with the size with a simple structure.

[0233] In addition, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the binding mechanism 51 that binds the accumulated paper sheets SS causes the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172 on which the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed to move to a position corresponding to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172. Therefore, even when producing small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes, the paper sheet binding device 4 can position the second chuck portion 176 at a position according to the size, can perform binding according to the size, and thereby can effectively produce small bundles of paper sheets.

[0234] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the second chuck portion 176 has a pair of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 that are provided so as to be movable toward and away from each other. Therefore, even when producing small bundles of paper sheets of multiple sizes, the paper sheet binding device 4 can with a simple structure position the second chuck portion 176 at a position according to the size, allowing for appropriate binding according to the size.

[0235] In addition, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, after the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172 have been bound by the binding portion 53, by bringing the pair of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 closer together, the band T wrapped together with the accumulated paper sheets SS around the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 can be slightly loosened. Therefore, the small bundles of paper sheets can be smoothly dispensed from the binding portion 53.Modifications

[0236] In the paper sheet binding device 4, the second chuck portion 176 may be configured to change the winding strength of the band T when the band T is wrapped around and bound by the binding portion 53 around the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172. That is, when the winding strength of the band T is increased relative to the reference winding strength, the width of the second chuck portion 176 is decreased relative to the reference. When the winding strength of the band T is to be weakened relative to the reference winding strength, the width of the second chuck portion 176 is made wider relative to the reference. In this case, for example, the winding strength of the band T can be set for each denomination of currency. For example, the winding strength can be set in multiple stages for each currency, specifically, 11 stages from "-5" to "+5" including the standard winding strength of "0".

[0237] When a setting operation for the winding strength is input to the operation display portion 25, the paper sheet binding device 4 causes the operation display portion 25 to display a winding strength setting screen 370 as shown in FIG. 15. The winding strength setting screen 370 has a currency type display portion 371 that displays the currency type, a denomination display portion 372 that displays the denomination, and a winding strength display portion 373 that displays the winding strength. The winding strength setting screen 370 also has a first selection operation portion 374, a second selection operation portion 375, a confirmation operation portion 376, and a cancel operation portion 377.

[0238] When the currency type display portion 371 on the winding strength setting screen 370 is touched, the screen enters a mode in which the currency type can be changed. In this state, when the first selection operation portion 374 or the second selection operation portion 375 is touched, the display of the currency type display portion 371 is switched to other currency types (dollars, euros, etc.) in sequence.

[0239] Furthermore, when the denomination display portion 372 is touched on the winding strength setting screen 370, the screen enters a mode in which the denomination of the currency types displayed on the currency type display portion 371 can be changed. In this state, when the first selection operation portion 374 is touched or the second selection operation portion 375 is touched, the denomination display portion 372 switches sequentially to each denomination of the currency type displayed in the currency type display portion 371.

[0240] Furthermore, when the winding strength display portion 373 is touched on the winding strength setting screen 370, the screen enters a mode in which the winding strength during the binding process can be changed for the currency type displayed in the currency type display portion 371 and the denomination displayed in the denomination display portion 372. In this state, when the first selection operation portion 374 or the second selection operation portion 375 is touched, the winding strength display portion 373 switches sequentially among "-5", "-4", "-3", "-2", "-1", "0", "+1", "+2", "+3", "+4", and "+5".

[0241] When the confirmation operation portion 376 is touched on the winding strength setting screen 370, the paper sheet binding device 4 performs the binding process using the settings displayed in the currency type display portion 371, denomination display portion 372, and winding strength display portion 373 at that time.

[0242] When the winding strength is increased for the same currency type and denomination, such as "+1" rather than "0" or "+2" rather than "+1", the binding portion 53 of the paper sheet binding device 4 narrows the gap between the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212. As a result, the length of the band T used for winding the band T decreases, thereby increasing the winding strength of the band T once the small bundle of paper sheets is formed. For example, in the illustration of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 in FIG. 16, if the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "0" is as shown in part (b) of FIG. 16, then the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "+1" will be as shown in part (a) of FIG. 16, a predetermined amount to the right of the position when the winding strength is "0".

[0243] Conversely, when the winding strength is weakened for the same currency type and denomination, such as from "-1" to "0" or from "-2" to "-1", the binding portion 53 of the paper sheet binding device 4 widens the gap between the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212. As a result, the length of the band T used for winding the band T increases, thereby reducing the winding strength of the band T once the small bundle of paper sheets is formed. For example, compared to the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "0" as shown in part (b) of FIG. 16, the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "-1" will be as shown in part (c) of FIG. 16, which is a predetermined amount to the left of the position when the winding strength is "0".

[0244] In addition to setting the winding strength of the band T for each denomination of a given currency, different winding strengths may be set for genuine notes and soiled notes of the same denomination.

[0245] In the above embodiment, no mention is made of the number of types of binding targets in one counting and binding process, but it is also possible to set not just one type but multiple types as binding targets in one counting and binding process. In such a case, the control portion 26 accommodates, for example, a first type of paper sheet S in one accumulation mechanism 42 and a second type of paper sheet S different from the first type of paper sheet S in the other accumulation mechanism 42. At this time, the control portion 26 moves various components of the binding mechanism 51 to positions corresponding to the size of the first type of paper sheet S while either the first type of paper sheet S is accumulated in one accumulation mechanism 42 in the predetermined binding unit sheet count (e.g., 100 sheets), or while the accumulated first type of paper sheet S is being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45. In addition, the control portion 26 moves various components of the binding mechanism 51 to positions corresponding to the size of the second type of paper sheet S while either the second type of paper sheet S is accumulated in the other accumulation mechanism 42 in the predetermined binding unit sheet count (e.g., 100 sheets), or while the accumulated second type of paper sheet is being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45.

[0246] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper sheet processing device 1 including the paper sheet counting device 2, the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the paper sheet binding device 4 has been described as an example. However, it is also possible to configure a paper sheet binding device dedicated to counting and binding that does not have the paper sheet accumulation device 3 and combines the paper sheet counting device 2 and the paper sheet binding device 4. In this case, the leftward extension portion 21c of the paper sheet counting device 2 is connected to the coupling conveyance portion 41A of the paper sheet binding device 4.Description of Reference Symbols

[0247] 4 Paper sheet binding device 45 Conveyance mechanism 51 Binding mechanism 52 Retention portion 53 Binding portion 61 Placement portion 62 Adjusting portion 63 Transfer portion 71 Wall portion 72 Moving portion 172 Chuck portion 175 First chuck portion 176 Second chuck portion 211 First adjustment plate 212 Second adjustment plate S Paper sheet SS Accumulated paper sheets

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0010]A paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The paper sheet processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 performs a counting and sorting process of counting and sorting banknotes as paper sheets S, and a counting and binding process of counting and binding banknotes as paper sheets S. In the counting and sorting process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into countable paper sheets S and rejected paper sheets S, and further counts and sorts the countable paper sheets S by type before storing them. In addition, in the counting and binding process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into paper sheets S to be bound and rejected paper sheets S that are not to be bound, and then accumulates the paper sheets S to be bound in groups of a predetermined number and binds them to for...

Technical Field

[0001] The present disclosure relates to a paper sheet binding device.

[0002] Priority is claimed on Japanese Patent Application No. 2023-100073, filed June 19, 2023, the content of which is incorporated herein by reference.Background Art

[0003] There is a paper sheet processing device that includes a paper sheet counting device that identifies and counts paper sheets such as banknotes, and a paper sheet binding device that binds the paper sheets identified and counted by the paper sheet counting device (for example, Patent Document 1). This type of paper sheet binding device has an accumulation mechanism in which paper sheets identified and counted by a paper sheet counting device are accumulated, a conveyance mechanism that conveys the paper sheets stacked in the accumulation mechanism, and a binding mechanism that binds the paper sheets conveyed from the accumulation mechanism by the conveyance mechanism.Prior Art DocumentsPatent Documents

[0004] Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-178509SUMMARY OF THE INVENTIONProblems to be Solved by the Invention

[0005] In a paper sheet binding device, when attempting to create small bundles of paper sheets of different sizes, such as a small bundle of paper sheets formed by accumulating and binding one set of paper sheets of the same size and a small bundle of paper sheets formed by accumulating and binding another set of paper sheets of the same size but different from the first set of paper sheets, there is a possibility that the binding will not be performed properly.

[0006] An object of the present disclosure is to provide a paper sheet binding device that can effectively produce small bundles of paper sheets of a variety of sizes.Means for Solving the Problem

[0007] One aspect of the present disclosure is a paper sheet binding device including: a conveyance mechanism that conveys paper sheets in an accumulated state; and a binding mechanism that binds the paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, and the binding mechanism includes: a retention portion that places the paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism onto a placement position corresponding to a size of the paper sheets and transfers the placed paper sheets; and a binding portion that binds the paper sheets transferred from the retention portion.Effects of Invention

[0008] According to the present disclosure, it is possible to provide a paper sheet binding device that can favorably produce small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes.BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0009] [FIG. 1] A front view schematically illustrating a paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 2] A block diagram showing a partial configuration of the paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 3] A plan view schematically illustrating a binding mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 4] A plan view schematically showing a retention portion and a chuck portion of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating how the device accommodates different sizes of accumulated paper sheets. [FIG. 5] A perspective view showing an adjusting portion of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 6] A side view schematically showing the binding mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating changes in the state of the conveyance portion. [FIG. 7] A front view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is narrow. [FIG. 8] A plan view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is narrow. [FIG. 9] A front view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is wide. [FIG. 10] A plan view showing the chuck mechanism of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure, illustrating a state in which the width of the second chuck portion is wide. [FIG. 11] An exploded perspective view showing the chuck portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 12] A perspective view showing a chuck base portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 13] A front view showing a binding portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 14] A front view showing a chuck portion of the paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 15] A front view showing a winding strength setting screen of a modified example of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure. [FIG. 16] A partial front view showing a second chuck portion of a modified example of the paper sheet binding device according to the embodiment of the present disclosure when the winding strength is different. EMBODIMENTS FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION<Embodiment>

[0010] A paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The paper sheet processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 performs a counting and sorting process of counting and sorting banknotes as paper sheets S, and a counting and binding process of counting and binding banknotes as paper sheets S. In the counting and sorting process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into countable paper sheets S and rejected paper sheets S, and further counts and sorts the countable paper sheets S by type before storing them. In addition, in the counting and binding process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into paper sheets S to be bound and rejected paper sheets S that are not to be bound, and then accumulates the paper sheets S to be bound in groups of a predetermined number and binds them to form small bundles of paper sheets. In the following description, "front" refers to the operator's side of the paper sheet processing device 1, "rear" refers to the opposite side from the operator of the paper sheet processing device 1, "right" refers to the right side as seen from the operator of the paper sheet processing device 1, and "left" refers to the left side as seen from the operator of the paper sheet processing device 1.

[0011] As shown in FIG. 1, the paper sheet processing device 1 of the embodiment is configured by connecting a paper sheet counting device 2, a paper sheet accumulation device 3, and a paper sheet binding device 4 in this order from the right. the paper sheet processing device 1 can also be provided with a retraction pocket portion 5 at the left end of the paper sheet processing device 1, that is, on the left side of the paper sheet binding device 4.(Paper sheet counting device 2)

[0012] The paper sheet counting device 2 has an input port 11 that is located from the middle to the bottom in the vertical direction on the right side of the device and is always open to the outside of the paper sheet counting device 2 over the right side and front, and a reject portion 12 that is located above the input port 11 on the right side of the device and is always open to the outside of the paper sheet counting device 2 over the right side and front.

[0013] A plurality of sheets S are set in the input port 11 in a state where they are accumulated vertically with their long sides aligned front to back and their short sides aligned left to right. The input port 11 separates and feeds out the accumulated paper sheets S set in this manner, one by one, starting from the bottom one, and takes them into the paper sheet counting device 2. The paper sheets S fed from the input port 11 move along the direction in which their short sides extend.

[0014] Inside the paper sheet counting device 2, there is provided a counting device internal conveyance portion 21 that conveys paper sheets S dispensed from the input port 11, and an identification portion 22 that identifies and counts the paper sheets S being conveyed by the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The paper sheets S conveyed by the counting device internal conveyance portion 21 move along the direction in which their short sides extend. The identification portion 22 identifies the conveyance state and type of the paper sheet S, such as the denomination.

[0015] The counting device internal conveyance portion 21 has a leftward extension portion 21a, an upward extension portion 21b, a leftward extension portion 21c, and a branch extension portion 21d. The leftward extension portion 21a extends from the input port 11 toward the left side of the paper sheet counting device 2. The upward extension portion 21b extends upward from an end portion near the left side surface of the leftward extension portion 21a. The leftward extension portion 21c extends from the upper end of the upward extension portion 21b toward the left side surface of the paper sheet counting device 2 and opens to the left side surface. The branch extension portion 21d extends from the upper end of the upward extension portion 21b toward the right side surface of the paper sheet counting device 2 and connects to the reject portion 12. The counting device internal conveyance portion 21 has the identification portion 22 provided on the upward extension portion 21b along the vertical direction. The reject portion 12 receives the paper sheets S from the branch extension portion 21d of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The rejected paper sheets S thus fed are accumulated from bottom to top in the reject portion 12.

[0016] An operation display portion 25 is provided on the front surface of the paper sheet counting device 2 to receive operation inputs and display information. Inside the paper sheet counting device 2, there is a control portion 26 that controls each part of the paper sheet counting device 2, the paper sheet accumulation device 3 coupled to the paper sheet counting device 2, and the paper sheet binding device 4, i.e., the entire paper sheet processing device 1. The paper sheet counting device 2 also includes a storage portion 27 for storing master data that serves as a basis for identification, data on the identification and counting results, and the like.(Paper sheet accumulation device 3)

[0017] Inside the paper sheet accumulation device 3, there is provided an accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 that is connected to the leftward extension portion 21c of the paper sheet counting device 2 and conveys the paper sheets S fed from the leftward extension portion 21c. The paper sheets S conveyed by the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 also move along the direction in which their short sides extend.

[0018] The accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 has a coupling conveyance portion 31A that opens at the top of the right side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, extends horizontally and linearly toward the left side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and opens at the top of the left side, and a branch conveyance portion 31B that branches off downward from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 31A. The coupling conveyance portion 31A and the branch conveyance portion 31B each have an individual drive motor and can be driven independently.

[0019] The branch conveyance portion 31B branches off from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 31A and extends vertically downward, with the terminal portions on the opposite side of the coupling conveyance portion 31A including a downward extension portion 31Ba that extends toward the right side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and multiple, specifically three, branch extension portions 31Bb that branch off from intermediate positions of the downward extension portion 31Ba and extend toward the right side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3. An accumulation portion 32 is connected to the terminal portion of the downward extension portion 31Ba and the terminal portion of each of the three branch extension portions 31Bb. Therefore, the paper sheet accumulation device 3 is provided with a plurality of the accumulation portions 32, specifically, four accumulation portions 32. Each of the accumulation portions 32 is always open to the outside of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 from the front side of the paper sheet accumulation device 3.

[0020] Each of the plurality of accumulation portions 32 all have the same configuration. Each accumulation portion 32 has a bottom 35 that slopes downward to the right with respect to the horizontal, and a support wall 36 that extends upward from the right end position of the bottom 35 and perpendicular to the bottom 35. At the end of the bottom 35 of each accumulation portion 32 opposite the support wall portion 36, there is provided an impeller 37 which is provided at each end position of the branch conveyance portion 31B and which feeds out paper sheets S into the accumulation portion 32. The impeller 37 rotates together with the paper sheet S conveyed by the branch conveyance portion 31B, pinching it between its blades. When the paper sheet S comes into contact with the bottom portion 35 and escapes from between the blades of the impeller 37, the blades of the impeller 37 push the paper sheet S toward the support wall portion 36. As a result, the paper sheets S are accumulated in order on the support wall portion 36 in a state where they stand on the bottom portion 35 with their short sides aligned vertically.

[0021] In the paper sheet processing device 1, the paper sheet counting device 2 and the paper sheet accumulation device 3 are used to perform the counting and sorting process described above. The counting and sorting process is a process in which the paper sheets S set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2 are identified and counted in the identification portion 22 of the paper sheet counting device 2, and the paper sheets S to be counted and sorted are accumulated in the multiple accumulation portions 32 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 while being classified.

[0022] When a user inputs an operation to select the counting and sorting process on the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 causes the operation display portion 25 to set the type of paper sheets S that will be subjected to the classification and counting process and stored in each accumulation portion 32. For example, one of the multiple accumulation portions 32, a first accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 10,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22, another, a second accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 5,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22, a further, third accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 1,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22, and a further, fourth accumulation portion 32, is configured to store 2,000 yen notes as the paper sheets S after counting by the identification portion 22.

[0023] When the paper sheets S are set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 and the start operation for the counting and sorting process is input to the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 separates the paper sheets S in an accumulated state set in the input port 11 one by one and conveys them using the leftward extension portion 21a and the upward extension portion 21b of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The control portion 26 then controls the identification portion 22 to identify each paper sheet S while being conveyed by the upward extension portion 21b. When paper sheet S is identified from the identification result of the identification portion 22 as a reject paper sheet S that is not subject to counting and sorting processing, which includes a paper sheet S with abnormal identification such as a counterfeit note, a damaged note, and a note with tape attached, the control portion 26 conveys this paper sheet S from the upward extension portion 21b to the branch extension portion 21d and stores it in the reject portion 12 without counting it.

[0024] When the paper sheet S is identified from the identification result of the identification portion 22 as being subject to the counting and sorting process, the control portion 26 adds one to the count value of the type of this paper sheet S, i.e., its denomination, and conveys the paper sheet S to the accumulation portion 32 corresponding to its type and stores it therein using the upward extension portion 21b, the leftward extension portion 21c, the coupling conveyance portion 31A and the branch conveyance portion 31B of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 within the paper sheet accumulation device 3.

[0025] In this way, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies and stores the paper sheets S to be counted and sorted from among the paper sheets S set in an accumulated state at the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2 into multiple accumulation portions 32 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3. A sensor may be provided to detect that a sheet S has been set in the input port 11, and when this sensor detects the paper sheet S, the counting and sorting process may be automatically started.(Paper sheet binding device 4)

[0026] Inside the paper sheet binding device 4, there is provided a binding device internal conveyance portion 41 that is connected to the coupling conveyance portion 31A of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 and conveys the paper sheets S fed out from the coupling conveyance portion 31A. The paper sheets S conveyed by the binding device internal conveyance portion 41 also move along the direction in which their short sides extend.

[0027] The binding device internal conveyance portion 41 has a coupling conveyance portion 41A and a branch conveyance portion 41B. The coupling conveyance portion 41A opens at the top of the right side of the paper sheet binding device 4 to be connected to the coupling conveyance portion 31A, extends horizontally and linearly toward the left side of the paper sheet binding device 4, and opens at the top of the left side to be connected to the evacuation pocket portion 5 if the evacuation pocket portion 5 is provided. The branch conveyance portion 41B branches downward from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 41A. The coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B each have an individual drive motor and can be driven independently.

[0028] The branch conveyance portion 41B branches off from the left side of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and extends vertically downward. The end of the branch conveyance portion 41B opposite the coupling conveyance portion 41A has a downward extension portion 41Ba that extends toward the right side of the paper sheet binding device 4, and a branch extension portion 41Bb that branches off from the intermediate position of the downward extension portion 41Ba and extends toward the right side of the paper sheet binding device 4. An accumulation mechanism 42 is connected to the end of the downward extension portion 41Ba and the end of the branch extension portion 41Bb. Therefore, the paper sheet binding device 4 is provided with a plurality of, specifically, two, accumulation mechanisms 42.

[0029] In the paper sheet processing device 1, the process using the paper sheet counting device 2, the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the paper sheet binding device 4 is the counting and binding process described above. The counting and binding process is a process of binding the paper sheets S to be bound from the paper sheets S set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2.

[0030] When an operation to select the counting and binding process is input on the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 causes the operation display portion 25 to set the paper sheets S to be bound. For example, Japanese currency, 10,000 yen notes, are set as the paper sheets S to be bound.

[0031] When paper sheets S are set in an accumulated state in the input port 11 and the start operation for the counting and binding process is input to the operation display portion 25, the control portion 26 separates the paper sheets S in an accumulated state set in the input port 11 one by one and conveys them using the leftward extension portion 21a and upward extension portion 21b of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21. The control portion 26 then controls the identification portion 22 to identify each paper sheet S while being conveyed by the upward extension portion 21b. If the identification result of the identification portion 22 identifies the paper sheet S as a paper sheet with an identification error such as a counterfeit note, a damaged note, or a note with tape attached, the control portion 26 does not count the paper sheet S, but instead conveys it from the upward extension portion 21b to the reject portion 12 via the branch extension portion 21d for collection.

[0032] If the identification result of the identification portion 22 identifies a paper sheet S as a paper sheet S that is correctly identified but one that is not a target for binding because it is a different denomination, the control portion 26 conveys this paper sheet S from the upward extension portion 21b to the reject portion 12 via the branch extension portion 21d for collection. Paper sheets S that have been identified as correctly identified paper sheets S but are of a different denomination and not to be bound can be conveyed to a designated accumulation portion 32 for collection by the upward extension portion 21b, the leftward extension portion 21c, and the coupling conveyance portion 31A and branch conveyance portion 31B of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 within the paper sheet accumulation device 3. In other words, the collection destination for paper sheets S of different denominations that have been properly identified but are not to be bound can be arbitrarily selected from the reject portion 12 and the plurality of accumulation portions 32.

[0033] When the identification portion 22 identifies, from its identification result, that the paper sheet S is one to be bound, the control portion 26 causes the upward extension portion 21b, the leftward extension portion 21c, the coupling conveyance portion 31A of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the coupling conveyance portion 41A and branch conveyance portion 41B of the paper sheet binding device 4 to convey the sheet S to the accumulation mechanism 42 for collection in units of the number to be bound (specifically, 100 sheets). In the counting and binding process, the control portion 26 first accumulates the specified number of paper sheets S in the upper accumulation mechanism 42 of the two accumulation mechanisms 42 at the downward extension portion 41Ba and branch extension portion 41Bb of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B. Next, the specified number of sheets S are accumulated in the lower accumulation mechanism 42 by the downward extension 41Ba of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B. Next, the specified number of sheets S are accumulated in the upper accumulation mechanism 42 by the downward extension portion 41Ba and the branch extension portion 41Bb of the coupling conveyance portion 41A and the branch conveyance portion 41B. In this way, the paper sheets S in the number to be bound are alternately accumulated in the two accumulation mechanisms 42. A sensor may be provided in the input port 11 to detect that the paper sheets S have been set, and when this sensor detects the paper sheets S, the counting and binding process may be automatically started.

[0034] The accumulation mechanism 42 aligns the position in the short side direction by abutting the long side of the right end of the paper sheets S that are sequentially released to the right from the connected one of the downward extension portion 41Ba and branch extension portion 41Bb of the branch conveyance portion 41B against a positioning wall portion (not shown) that extends perpendicular to the left-right direction. At the same time, the accumulation mechanism 42 aligns the long-side positions of the paper sheets S that are sequentially released by simultaneously tapping both short sides of the paper sheets S using jogging mechanisms (not shown) provided on both sides of the paper sheets S in the long-side direction. The accumulation mechanism 42 accumulates the sequentially discharged paper sheets S from bottom to top while aligning the positions of their short sides and long sides.

[0035] The jogging mechanisms on both sides of the accumulation mechanism 42 (not shown) each stroke toward the paper sheets S to positions corresponding to the long-side length of the paper sheets S that are set as the binding target at the start of the counting and binding process, so that, regardless of the long-side length of the paper sheets S to be bound, the central position in the long-side direction is positioned at a predetermined reference position in the front-rear direction within the paper sheet binding device 4, thereby positioning the paper sheets S in the long-side direction. That is, the jogging mechanisms (not shown) on both sides of the accumulation mechanism 42 stroke toward the paper sheets S by a shorter stroke amount when the paper sheets S having a long-side length greater than that of paper sheets S with a given long-side length are the binding target than the stroke amount toward the paper sheets S when the paper sheets S with the given long-side length are the binding target, and stroke toward the paper sheets S by a longer stroke amount when the paper sheets S having a long-side length shorter than that of paper sheets S with the given long-side length are the binding target, so that in any case the central position in the long-side direction is positioned at the predetermined reference position in the front-rear direction, thereby positioning the paper sheets S.

[0036] The paper sheet binding device 4 has a conveyance mechanism 45 that, when at one multiple accumulation mechanism 42 of the multiple accumulation mechanisms 42, the paper sheets S are accumulated into a bundle of 100 sheets, forming the accumulated paper sheets SS, conveys these accumulated paper sheets SS, and when at another multiple accumulation mechanism 42 of the multiple accumulation mechanisms 42, the paper sheets S are accumulated into a bundle of 100 sheets, forming the accumulated paper sheets SS, conveys these accumulated paper sheets SS. The conveyance mechanism 45 has a gripping portion 46, a gripping operation drive mechanism 47 shown in FIG. 2, and a gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48 shown in FIG. 2. The gripping portion 46 grips, from above and below, the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been accumulated vertically by the accumulation mechanism 42 with their short sides and long sides aligned. The gripping operation drive mechanism 47 causes the gripping portion 46 to perform a gripping operation and a release operation. The gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48 moves the gripping portion 46 shown in FIG. 1. The long sides of the paper sheets S constituting the accumulated paper sheets SS are also referred to as the long sides in the accumulated paper sheets SS, and the short sides of the paper sheets S constituting the accumulated paper sheets SS are also referred to as the short sides in the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0037] As shown in FIG. 1, in the conveyance mechanism 45, the gripping portion 46 grips the accumulated paper sheets SS accumulated by the number of sheets bound in the accumulation mechanism 42, pulls them out of the accumulation mechanism 42 to the right, moves vertically downward, and then moves to the left to convey them. At this time, the gripping portion 46 grips the accumulated paper sheets SS at a position a predetermined distance from the long side at the right end in the short side direction, regardless of the length of the short side. The gripping portion 46 also conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS while maintaining the central position of the long side direction at the reference position in the front-rear direction.

[0038] The paper sheet binding device 4 is located to the left of the lower part of the conveyance mechanism 45, and has a binding mechanism 51 that receives and binds the accumulated paper sheets SS from the gripping portion 46 that has moved to the left after descending as described above. In other words, the binding mechanism 51 binds the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45. As shown in FIG. 3, the binding mechanism 51 has a retention portion 52, a binding portion 53, and a discharge portion 54.<1. Retention portion 52>

[0039] The retention portion 52 temporarily places the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 over a distance corresponding to the size of the short side, and then transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been placed to the binding portion 53.

[0040] When placing the accumulated paper sheets SS, the retention portion 52 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction, and adjusts their position relative to the binding portion 53. In other words, the retention portion 52 places the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 at a placement position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0041] The retention portion 52 is disposed on the left side of the conveyance mechanism 45.

[0042] The retention portion 52 includes a placement portion 61, an adjusting portion 62, and a transfer portion 63.<1-1. Placement portion 61>

[0043] As shown in FIG. 3, the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the gripping portion 46 of the conveyance mechanism 45 is placed on the placement portion 61.

[0044] The placement portion 61 is, for example, a plate member, and is provided on the upper surface of a retention base portion (not shown) that is provided in a fixed position relative to a housing 60 of the paper sheet binding device 4. Therefore, the position of the placement portion 61 is fixed relative to the housing 60. The top surface of the placement portion 61 is flat and extends horizontally. The center position of the placement portion 61 in the front-rear direction is the reference position. Therefore, the gripping portion 46 places the accumulated paper sheets SS on the placement portion 61 so that the center position in the long side direction coincides with the center position of the placement portion 61 in the front-rear direction.<1-2. Adjusting portion 62>

[0045] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the adjusting portion 62 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 in accordance with the length of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction. Specifically, the adjusting portion 62 positions the central position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 so that it coincides with the central position X in the left-right direction of the binding portion 53 on which the accumulated paper sheets SS will later be placed.

[0046] The adjusting portion 62, like the placement portion 61, is provided on the upper surface of a retention base portion (not shown).

[0047] The adjusting portion 62 is disposed on the left side of the placement portion 61 with a gap between itself and the placement portion 61. In other words, as shown in FIG. 3, the adjusting portion 62 is located downstream (rearward) of the placement portion 61 in the conveying direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the conveyance mechanism 45 (left-right direction of the paper sheet binding device 4).

[0048] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the adjusting portion 62 has a wall portion 71 provided so as to be movable relative to the placement portion 61, and a moving portion 72 that moves the wall portion 71.

[0049] The wall portion 71 is an L-shaped plate member and has a support portion 75 and an abutment portion 76.

[0050] The support portion 75 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction and is disposed horizontally. The support portion 75 has a flat upper surface that extends horizontally. The upper surface of the support portion 75 is disposed on the same plane as the upper surface of the placement portion 61. The support portion 75 supports the accumulated paper sheets SS together with the placement portion 61.

[0051] The abutment portion 76 has a rectangular shape that is elongated in the front-rear direction, and extends vertically upward from the left edge of the support portion 75. The right side surface of the abutment portion 76 is planar, extending perpendicular to the left-right direction. The abutment portion 76 abuts the long side at the left end of the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 as shown in FIG. 3. The accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 are placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 while abutting the abutment portion 76 in this manner. The abutment portion 76 adjusts the placement position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 as shown in the abutment state from parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4. In other words, the abutment portion 76 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61.

[0052] The conveyance mechanism 45 shown in FIG. 3 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS by the gripping portion 46 toward the retention portion 52 by a predetermined distance according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction. This predetermined distance is a distance at which the accumulated paper sheets SS can reliably abut the abutment portion 76.

[0053] The moving portion 72 can move the wall portion 71 in the direction of conveyance of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the conveyance mechanism 45 (left and right direction of the paper sheet binding device 4), and can move the wall portion 71 in a direction away from and towards the placement portion 61 as shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4. The moving portion 72 moves the wall portion 71 in accordance with the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61.

[0054] As shown in FIG. 5, the moving portion 72 has a moving base portion 81, a first pin member 82, a second pin member 83, a first link member 84, a second link member 85, a coupling pin member 86, a third pin member 87, a fourth pin member 88, a support member 89, a moving block 90, and a moving drive mechanism 91.

[0055] The moving base portion 81 is fixed to a retention base portion (not shown). The moving base portion 81 has a base upper plate portion 101, a base side plate portion 102, a base intermediate plate portion 103, a base extension plate portion 104, and a base lower plate portion 105.

[0056] The base upper plate portion 101 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction and is disposed horizontally.

[0057] The base side plate portion 102 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends downward from the left edge of the base upper plate portion 101. The base side plate portion 102 extends perpendicularly to the left-right direction.

[0058] The base intermediate plate portion 103 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and widens to the right from the lower edge of the base side plate portion 102. The base intermediate plate portion 103 extends parallel to the base upper plate portion 101 and is disposed horizontally.

[0059] The base extension plate portion 104 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends downward from the right edge of the base intermediate plate portion 103. The base extension plate portion 104 extends perpendicularly to the left-right direction.

[0060] The base lower plate portion 105 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends rightward from the lower edge of the base extension plate portion 104. The base lower plate portion 105 extends parallel to the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103 and is disposed horizontally. The base lower plate portion 105 of the moving base portion 81 is fixed to a retention base portion (not shown).

[0061] The first pin member 82 is supported by the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103 of the moving base portion 81. The first pin member 82 is provided on the front end side of the moving base portion 81. The first pin member 82 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0062] The second pin member 83 is supported by the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103 of the moving base portion 81. The second pin member 83 is provided on the rear end side of the moving base portion 81. The second pin member 83 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0063] The first link member 84 is a long, linear member that is arranged between the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103, and one end of the lengthwise direction is rotatably supported by the first pin member 82. The first link member 84 extends rightward and rearward from the first pin member 82.

[0064] The second link member 85 is a long, linear member that is arranged between the base upper plate portion 101 and the base intermediate plate portion 103. One end of the second link member 85 in the longitudinal direction is supported by the second pin member 83 so as to be rotatable and movable a predetermined distance along the longitudinal direction. The second link member 85 extends rightward and forward from the second pin member 83.

[0065] The first link member 84 and the second link member 85 intersect at their respective intermediate portions in the longitudinal direction, and the coupling pin member 86 couples them at this intersecting portion. The coupling pin member 86 is aligned in the vertical direction. The first link member 84 and the second link member 85 are both rotatable about the coupling pin member 86.

[0066] The third pin member 87 is supported at the other end of the first link member 84 opposite to the first pin member 82 so as to be movable a predetermined distance along the length direction of the first link member 84. The third pin member 87 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0067] The fourth pin member 88 is provided at the other end of the second link member 85 opposite to the second pin member 83. The fourth pin member 88 is aligned in the vertical direction.

[0068] The support member 89 is a long, linear member, one end of which in the longitudinal direction is supported by the third pin member 87, and the other end of which in the longitudinal direction is supported by the fourth pin member 88. In this state, the support member 89 extends in the front-rear direction, with its rear end side supported by the third pin member 87 and its front end side supported by the fourth pin member 88.

[0069] The support member 89 has an upper support plate portion 111, a side support plate portion 112, and a lower support plate portion 113.

[0070] The upper support plate portion 111 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction and is disposed horizontally.

[0071] The support side plate portion 112 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends downward from the right edge of the support upper plate portion 111. The support side plate portion 112 extends perpendicular to the left-right direction.

[0072] The lower support plate portion 113 has a rectangular shape that is long in the front-rear direction, and extends leftward from the lower edge of the side support plate portion 112. The lower support plate portion 113 extends parallel to the upper support plate portion 111 and is disposed horizontally.

[0073] The support member 89 is supported at one end in the length direction of the support upper plate portion 111 and the support lower plate portion 113 by the third pin member 87, and is supported at the other end in the length direction of the support upper plate portion 111 and the support lower plate portion 113 by the fourth pin member 88. The end of the first link member 84 on the third pin member 87 side and the end of the second link member 85 on the fourth pin member 88 side are arranged between the upper support plate portion 111 and the lower support plate portion 113 of the support member 89.

[0074] On the side opposite to the upper support plate portion 111 and the lower support plate portion 113 of the support side plate portion 112 of the support member 89, namely, on the right-hand surface, the wall portion 71 is abutted and fixed at the abutment portion 76. At this time, the wall portion 71 is oriented such that the support portion 75 extends rightward, i.e. to the side opposite to the support member 89, from the abutment portion 76.

[0075] The moving block 90 is disposed between the upper support plate portion 111 and the lower support plate portion 113 of the support member 89, and is fixed at the position of the third pin member 87. A screw hole 115 is formed in the moving block 90 along the left-right direction.

[0076] The moving drive mechanism 91 includes a moving drive motor 121, a first moving drive pulley 122, a screw member 123, a second moving drive pulley 124, and a moving drive belt 125.

[0077] The moving drive motor 121 includes a drive shaft 127 and a motor body portion 128 that rotates the drive shaft 127.

[0078] The moving drive motor 121 is mounted on the portion of the moving base portion 81 located rearward of the second pin member 83. The motor body portion 128 of the moving drive motor 121 is fixed to the right side surface of the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81. The drive shaft 127 of the moving drive motor 121 projects leftward from the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81.

[0079] The first moving drive pulley 122 is fixed to the drive shaft 127 of the moving drive motor 121.

[0080] The screw member 123 penetrates the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81 and is rotatably supported by the base side plate portion 102. The screw member 123 is disposed so as to be orthogonal to the second pin member 83. The screw member 123 is threaded into the screw hole 115 of the moving block 90.

[0081] The second moving drive pulley 124 is fixed to the portion of the screw member 123 that protrudes leftward from the base side plate portion 102.

[0082] The moving drive belt 125 is wound around the first moving drive pulley 122 and the second moving drive pulley 124.

[0083] When the moving drive motor 121 rotates the drive shaft 127 in a first direction, the moving portion 72 causes the first moving drive pulley 122, the moving drive belt 125, the second moving drive pulley 124 and the screw member 123 to rotate in the first direction, thereby moving the moving block 90 to the right. Then, the moving portion 72 moves the wall portion 71 in a direction away from the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81, i.e., to the right, while the support member 89 coupled to the moving block 90 swings the first link member 84 and the second link member 85. Specifically, when the moving block 90 moves to the right, the third pin member 87 moves to the right, causing the first link member 84 to slide relative to the third pin member 87 and rotate around the first pin member 82. At this time, the coupling pin member 86 coupled to the first link member 84 rotates the second link member 85 about the second pin member 83 while sliding relative thereto, thereby moving the fourth pin member 88 to the right. As a result, the third pin member 87 and the fourth pin member 88 move rightward in synchronization. Consequently, the moving portion 72 moves the support member 89 and the wall portion 71 fixed to the support member 89 to the right while maintaining their posture, front-rear position, and up-down position.

[0084] When the moving drive motor 121 rotates the drive shaft 127 in a second direction opposite to the first direction, the moving portion 72 causes the first moving drive pulley 122, the moving drive belt 125, the second moving drive pulley 124 and the screw member 123 to rotate in the second direction, thereby moving the moving block 90 to the left. Then, the moving portion 72 moves the wall portion 71 in a direction approaching the base side plate portion 102 of the moving base portion 81, i.e., to the left, while the support member 89 coupled to the moving block 90 swings the first link member 84 and the second link member 85. Specifically, when the moving block 90 moves to the left, the third pin member 87 moves to the left, causing the first link member 84 to slide relative to the third pin member 87 and rotate around the first pin member 82. At this time, the coupling pin member 86 coupled to the first link member 84 rotates the second link member 85 about the second pin member 83 while sliding relative thereto, thereby moving the fourth pin member 88 to the left. As a result, the third pin member 87 and the fourth pin member 88 move leftward in synchronization. Consequently, the moving portion 72 moves the support member 89 and the wall portion 71 fixed to the support member 89 to the left while maintaining their posture, front-rear position, and up-down position. The moving portion 72 is a so-called pantograph mechanism.

[0085] In the adjusting portion 62, the moving portion 72 positions the wall portion 71 at a position that corresponds to the length of the short side of the paper sheets S to be bound. The wall portion 71 moves to a position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61, as shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, thereby adjusting the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61.<1-3. Transfer portion 63>

[0086] The position of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction is determined by the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62, whereby the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61. The transfer portion 63 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS thus placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 and the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53.

[0087] The transfer portion 63 is provided between the placement portion 61 and the adjusting portion 62.

[0088] As shown in FIG. 6, the transfer portion 63 has a first gripping member 131, a second gripping member 132, a transfer grip drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2, and a transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2. The transfer grip drive mechanism 133 raises and lowers the first gripping member 131 to cause the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 to perform gripping and release operations. The transfer drive mechanism 134 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6 back and forth.

[0089] As shown in FIG. 6, the first gripping member 131 extends in the front-rear direction.

[0090] The transfer grip drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2 raises and lowers the first gripping member 131 shown in FIG. 6.

[0091] The second gripping member 132 extends in the front-rear direction. The second gripping member 132 is provided vertically below the first gripping member 131, and has a grip main body portion 141, a support shaft 142, a movable block portion 143, and a spring member (not shown).

[0092] The grip main body portion 141 extends in the front-rear direction. The grip main body portion 141 extends forward beyond the first gripping member 131. The grip main body portion 141 has an upper surface that is aligned with the upper surface of the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 shown in FIG. 3.

[0093] As shown in FIG. 6, the support shaft 142 is provided at the front end of the grip main body portion 141 along the left-right direction.

[0094] The movable block portion 143 is supported by the support shaft 142 so as to be rotatable around the support shaft 142. The movable block portion 143 is rotatable between a forward-tilted state in which it extends forward from the grip main body portion 141 as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, and an upright state in which it stands up vertically above the grip main body portion 141 as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6. As shown in FIG. 6A, the height position of the upper surface of the movable block portion 143 when it is in the forward-tilted state matches the height position of the upper surface of the grip main body portion 141.

[0095] A spring member (not shown) biases the movable block portion 143 to rotate so as to assume the upright position as shown in FIG. 6(b).

[0096] When accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on top of the movable block portion 143 as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the weight of the accumulated paper sheets SS causes the movable block portion 143 to rotate forward against the biasing force of a spring member (not shown) and assume the forward-tilted state. When the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the movable block portion 143 are removed as shown in FIG. 6B, the movable block portion 143 is brought into an upright position by the biasing force of a spring member (not shown).

[0097] The transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6 forward and backward together with the transfer grip drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2. At this time, the transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 moves the grip main body portion 141 of the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6 in the front-rear direction while maintaining the vertical and horizontal positions.

[0098] As shown in FIG. 3, in the transfer portion 63, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are disposed between the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62. As shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the transfer portion 63 positions the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 at predetermined receiving positions in the forward / backward direction, and is in a standby state with the first gripping member 131 raised.

[0099] As described above, the transfer portion 63 is configured to grasp the accumulated paper sheets SS that have been conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 with their long side positions determined in the accumulation mechanism 42 shown in FIG. 1 at a position a certain distance forward from their rear ends, depending on their types. The positions at which the accumulated paper sheets SS are gripped in this manner serve as the receiving position of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 in the front-rear direction. The transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 changes the receiving positions of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 depending on the size in the long side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS shown in FIG. 6. Specifically, for accumulated paper sheets SS with a long long side length, compared to accumulated paper sheets SS with a shorter long side length, the receiving positions of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are set rearward by a distance equal to half the difference between the long side lengths.

[0100] When the transfer portion 63 is in a standby state as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 as shown in FIG. 3 are abutted at their long side at the left end against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62, so that their position in the short side direction is determined and they are placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71, the second gripping member 132 and the placement portion 61. Then, as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the movable block portion 143 of the second gripping member 132 assumes a forward-tilted state due to the weight of the accumulated paper sheets SS. Thereafter, the first gripping member 131 is lowered by the transfer gripping drive mechanism 133 shown in FIG. 2, whereby the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 and the placement portion 61 are gripped from above and below by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132.

[0101] At this time, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 grip the center position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS, whose positions in the short side direction have been determined by being abutted against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 as shown in FIG. 4. In other words, the adjusting portion 62 positions the position in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 as shown in FIG. 3 so that the center position of the short side of the accumulated paper sheets SS matches the gripping positions of the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132.

[0102] When gripping the accumulated paper sheets SS, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 always grip a position at a fixed distance from the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, when the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 grip the accumulated paper sheets SS, their front-to-rear positions are adjusted by the transfer drive mechanism 134 shown in FIG. 2 so that the distance L1 from the front end of the first gripping member 131 to the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS is constant, depending on the length of the long side of the accumulated paper sheets SS, as shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4.

[0103] By driving the transfer drive mechanism 134, the transfer portion 63 shown in FIG. 4 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, which are holding the accumulated paper sheets SS, forward a fixed distance regardless of the type of the accumulated paper sheets SS, thereby transferring the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53. As a result, regardless of the type of accumulated paper sheets SS, which are held at a position a certain distance forward from their rear ends by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, the binding position where the band T is wrapped by the binding portion 53 will be located at a position a certain distance L2 forward from their rear ends, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, regardless of the type of accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, the transfer portion 63 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS to the binding portion 53 so that the paper sheets are positioned in the long side direction at a position that is preset according to the type of the paper sheets. That is, the transfer portion 63 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS to the binding portion 53 so that the binding position where the band T is wrapped by the binding portion 53 is a position according to the length of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the long side direction.

[0104] The transfer portion 63 transfers the small bundle of paper sheets formed by binding the accumulated paper sheets SS in the binding portion 53 from the binding portion 53 to the discharge portion 54 located in front of the binding portion 53.<2. Binding portion 53>

[0105] As shown in FIG. 3, the binding portion 53 binds the accumulated paper sheets SS transferred by the transfer portion 63 from the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 into small bundles of paper sheets.

[0106] The binding portion 53 is disposed in front of the placement portion 61.

[0107] The binding portion 53 has a chuck mechanism 161, a pressing portion 162, a band supply portion 163, a band fixing portion 164, a cutter portion 165, a band pressing portion 166, and a heater portion 167.<2-1. Chuck mechanism 161>

[0108] As shown in FIG. 3, the chuck mechanism 161 receives the accumulated paper sheets SS transferred from the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 by the transfer portion 63.

[0109] As shown in FIGS. 7, 8, 9, and 10, the chuck mechanism 161 has a base portion 171 and a chuck portion 172.

[0110] The base portion 171 is provided in a fixed position relative to the housing 60 shown in FIG. 1.

[0111] As shown in FIG. 3, when the accumulated paper sheets SS are transferred from the adjusting portion 62 and the placement portion 61 by the transfer portion 63, they are placed on the chuck portion 172. As shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, the chuck portion 172 has a first chuck portion 175 and a second chuck portion 176.

[0112] The first chuck portion 175 has a chuck base portion 181 and a cover portion 182.

[0113] The chuck base portion 181 is attached to the upper surface of the base portion 171 so as to be fixed thereto.

[0114] As shown in FIG. 11, the chuck base portion 181 has a first inclined support portion 191, a second inclined support portion 192, a coupling portion 193, a first engaging protrusion portion 194, a second engaging protrusion portion 195, and multiple, specifically three, support protrusion portions 196.

[0115] As shown in FIG. 11, the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction. The first inclined support portion 191 constitutes the left side portion of the chuck base portion 181. The second inclined support portion 192 is located to the right of the first inclined support portion 191 and constitutes the right side of the chuck base portion 181. The coupling portion 193 couples the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 and forms the center portion of the chuck base portion 181 in the left-right direction.

[0116] The first inclined support portion 191 extends in the front-rear direction. The top surface of the first inclined support portion 191 is inclined relative to the horizontal so that the vertical height position becomes lower toward the left side, i.e., on the side opposite to the second inclined support portion 192.

[0117] The second inclined support portion 192 extends in the front-rear direction. The upper surface of the second inclined support portion 192 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the vertical height position becomes lower toward the right side, i.e., on the side opposite to the first inclined support portion 191.

[0118] The coupling portion 193 couples the lower portion of the first inclined support portion 191 and the lower portion of the second inclined support portion 192 together.

[0119] The chuck base portion 181 has a recessed portion 198 between the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192, which recesses downward from the upper end of the first inclined support portion 191 and the upper end of the second inclined support portion 192 to the position of the coupling portion 193. The recessed portion 198 extends in the front-rear direction and penetrates the chuck base portion 181 in the front-rear direction. The height of the upper end of the chuck base portion 181 is the same as the height of the upper surface of the grip main body portion 141 of the second gripping member 132 shown in FIG. 6.

[0120] As shown in FIG. 11, the first engaging protrusion portion 194 protrudes forward from the lower portion of the front end of the first inclined support portion 191.

[0121] The second engaging protrusion portion 195 protrudes forward from the lower part of the front end of the second inclined support portion 192.

[0122] As shown in FIG. 12, the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 all protrude downward from the lower part of the right end of the second inclined support portion 192. The multiple support protrusion portions 196 are aligned in the front-rear direction with their positions aligned in the left-right direction.

[0123] As shown in FIG. 11, the cover portion 182 is a plate member, and has a cover main body portion 200, an inclined plate portion 201, a first engaging portion 202, and a second engaging portion 203.

[0124] The cover main body portion 200 is generally flat and is disposed horizontally below the chuck base portion 181. The cover main body portion 200 abuts against the multiple support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181. At this time, a gap is provided in the vertical direction between the cover main body portion 200 and the chuck base portion 181 except for the plurality of support protrusion portions 196. The portions of the cover main body portion 200 that abut against the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 are reinforced by these support protrusion portions 196.

[0125] The inclined plate portion 201 extends from the front end portion of the cover main body portion 200 at an angle upward toward the front.

[0126] The first engaging portion 202 extends upward from the left portion of the front end of the inclined plate portion 201. The first engaging portion 202 is formed with a first engaging hole 204 that penetrates in the front-rear direction.

[0127] The second engaging portion 203 extends upward from the right portion of the front end of the inclined plate portion 201. The second engaging portion 203 is formed with a second engaging hole 205 that penetrates in the front-rear direction.

[0128] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the cover portion 182 is attached to the chuck base portion 181 so as to be fixed in place, with the first engaging protrusion portion 194 of the chuck base portion 181 inserted into the first engaging hole 204 of the first engaging portion 202 and the second engaging protrusion portion 195 of the chuck base portion 181 inserted into the second engaging hole 205 of the second engaging portion 203. In this fixed state, a gap is provided in the vertical direction between the upper portion of the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182 shown in FIG. 11 and the portion of the chuck base portion 181 excluding the plurality of support protrusion portions 196.

[0129] The second chuck portion 176 has a first adjustment plate 211, a second adjustment plate 212, a first fitting member 213, a second fitting member 214, a first shaft member 215 and a second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, and a chuck drive mechanism 217 shown in FIGS. 7 to 10.

[0130] As shown in FIG. 11, the first adjustment plate 211 is a plate-shaped member, and has a first chuck adjusting portion 221 and a first mounting portion 222.

[0131] The first chuck adjusting portion 221 is flat and disposed horizontally.

[0132] The first mounting portion 222 extends downward from the rear end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221. The first mounting portion 222 is flat and extends perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

[0133] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the first adjustment plate 211 is disposed below the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175. The first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 is disposed in the gap between the first inclined support portion 191 of the chuck base portion 181 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182.

[0134] As shown in FIG. 11, the second adjustment plate 212 is a plate-shaped member, and has a second chuck adjusting portion 231 and a second mounting portion 232.

[0135] The second chuck adjusting portion 231 is flat and disposed horizontally.

[0136] The second mounting portion 232 extends downward from the rear end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231. The second mounting portion 232 is flat and extends perpendicular to the front-rear direction.

[0137] The second chuck adjusting portion 231 has a plurality of, specifically three, passage grooves 233 formed therein. The plurality of passage grooves 233 all pass through the second chuck adjusting portion 231 in the vertical direction. Each of the plurality of passage grooves 233 is an elongated hole that is long in the left-right direction. The plurality of passage grooves 233 are aligned in the front-rear direction with their positions in the left-right direction aligned.

[0138] As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the second adjustment plate 212 is disposed below the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175. The second adjustment plate 212 is disposed to the right of the first adjustment plate 211. Therefore, the second chuck adjusting portion 231 is disposed to the right of the first chuck adjusting portion 221. The second chuck adjusting portion 231 is disposed in the gap between the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. At this time, the second chuck adjusting portion 231 is disposed on the same plane as the first chuck adjusting portion 221. At this time, one of the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 is inserted into each of the plurality of passage grooves 233 shown in FIG. 11 of the second chuck adjusting portion 231. As a result, the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 pass through the plurality of passage grooves 233 and come into contact with the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182 from above.

[0139] The first fitting member 213 is attached to the rear surface of the first mounting portion 222 of the first adjustment plate 211 so as to be fixed. The first fitting member 213 is formed with a first through-hole 241 and a first screw hole 242. The first through-hole 241 is a straight hole whose inner circumferential surface is cylindrical, and penetrates the first fitting member 213 in the left-right direction. The first screw hole 242 has a female thread formed on the inner periphery thereof, is disposed below the first through-hole 241, and penetrates the first fitting member 213 in the left-right direction.

[0140] The second fitting member 214 is attached to the rear surface of the second mounting portion 232 of the second adjustment plate 212 so as to be fixed. The second fitting member 214 is formed with a second through-hole 246 and a second screw hole 247. The second through-hole 246 is a straight hole whole inner circumferential surface is cylindrical, and penetrates the second fitting member 214 in the left-right direction. The second through-hole 246 has the same diameter as the first through-hole 241 and is arranged coaxially with the first through-hole 241. The second screw hole 247 has a female thread formed on the inner periphery thereof, is disposed below the second through-hole 246, and penetrates the second fitting member 214 in the left-right direction. The second screw hole 247 is arranged coaxially with the first screw hole 242. The second screw hole 247 has a reverse-thread relationship with the first screw hole 242, in which the thread pitch is the same but the thread direction is opposite. Here, the first screw hole 242 is a right-hand thread, and the second screw hole 247 is a left-hand thread.

[0141] The first shaft member 215 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 is supported by the base portion 171. The first shaft member 215 is cylindrical with a cylindrical outer surface, and slidably fits into the first through-hole 241 of the first fitting member 213 and the second through-hole 246 of the second fitting member 214 shown in FIG. 11. In other words, the first shaft member 215 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 slidably supports the first fitting member 213 and the second fitting member 214 shown in FIG. 11.

[0142] The second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 is rotatably supported by the base portion 171. The second shaft member 216 has a first screw shaft portion 251 and a second screw shaft portion 252. In the second shaft member 216, the second screw shaft portion 252 is formed on the right side of the first screw shaft portion 251. The first screw shaft portion 251 and the second screw shaft portion 252 are coaxial and have a reverse-threaded relationship. The first screw shaft portion 251 is a right-hand thread and is screwed into the first screw hole 242 shown in FIG. 11, which is also a right-hand thread. The second screw shaft portion 252 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 is a left-hand thread, and is screwed into the second screw hole 247 shown in FIG. 11, which is also a left-hand thread.

[0143] As shown in FIGS. 8 and 10, the chuck drive mechanism 217 includes a chuck drive motor 261, a first chuck drive pulley 262, a second chuck drive pulley 263, and a chuck drive belt 264.

[0144] The chuck drive motor 261 has a drive shaft 267 and a motor main body portion 268 that rotates the drive shaft 267.

[0145] In the chuck drive motor 261, the motor main body portion 268 is fixed to the base portion 171 in an orientation such that the drive shaft 267 projects rightward.

[0146] The first chuck drive pulley 262 is fixed to the drive shaft 267 of the chuck drive motor 261.

[0147] The second chuck drive pulley 263 is fixed to the second shaft member 216.

[0148] The chuck drive belt 264 is wound around the first chuck drive pulley 262 and the second chuck drive pulley 263.

[0149] When the chuck drive motor 261 rotates the drive shaft 267 in a first direction, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, the second chuck drive pulley 263, and the second shaft member 216 in the first direction, moving the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 shown in FIG. 11 away from each other in the left-right direction. Then, the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 move away from each other in the left-right direction on the same horizontal plane, from the state shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 to the state shown in FIGS. 9 and 10. As a result, the second chuck portion 176 having the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 has a larger width in the left-right direction.

[0150] When the chuck drive motor 261 rotates the drive shaft 267 in the second direction opposite to the first direction, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, the second chuck drive pulley 263, and the second shaft member 216 in the second direction, moving the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 shown in FIG. 11 toward each other in the left-right direction. Then, the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 move toward each other in the left-right direction on the same horizontal plane, from the state shown in FIGS. 9 and 10 to the state shown in FIGS. 7 and 8. As a result, the second chuck portion 176 having the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 has a narrower width in the left-right direction.

[0151] As described above, the second chuck portion 176 has a pair of first and second adjustment plates 211 and 212 that are provided so as to be movable toward and away from each other. The first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 of the second chuck portion 176 are disposed below the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175 and are provided so as to be slidable relative to the chuck base portion 181. The second chuck portion 176 is provided movably relative to the first chuck portion 175 whose position is fixed relative to the base portion 171.

[0152] The second chuck portion 176 adjusts the spacing between the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 to a spacing that corresponds to the accumulated paper sheets SS to be bound. In other words, the second chuck portion 176 moves to a position corresponding to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be bound that are placed on the chuck portion 172.

[0153] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the adjusting portion 62 causes the central position in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS, placed on the support portion 75 and placement portion 61 and abutted against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71, to coincide with the central position X in the lateral direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172 of the binding portion 53, where the accumulated paper sheets SS will later be placed. That is, by the movement to a position corresponding to the size in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 and placement portion 61 in the state of abutting the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71, the adjusting portion 62 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 and the placement portion 61, so that the central position in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the support portion 75 and the placement portion 61 coincides with the central position X in the lateral direction of the first chuck portion 175 and second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172. The adjusting portion 62 adjusts the position of the abutment portion 76 by moving the wall portion 71 so that the distance from the center position X in the left-right direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 to the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 is W / 2, relative to the length W in the short side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0154] As shown in parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4, the second chuck portion 176 has a width corresponding to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS in the short side direction. That is, the second chuck portion 176 has a width that corresponds to the size in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS, so that it is wider for the accumulated paper sheets SS that are longer in the short-side direction as shown in part (a) of FIG. 4 than the accumulated paper sheets SS shown in part (b) of FIG. 4, and is narrower for the accumulated paper sheets SS that are shorter in the short-side direction as shown in part (c) of FIG. 4 than the accumulated paper sheets SS shown in part (b) of FIG. 4.<2-2. Pressing portion 162>

[0155] As shown in FIG. 3, the pressing portion 162 has a front pressing main body portion 271, a rear pressing main body portion 272, and a pressing drive mechanism 273 shown in FIG. 2.

[0156] As shown in FIG. 13, the front pressing main body portion 271 has a first front pressing piece 281 and a second front pressing piece 282. The first front pressing piece 281 and the second front pressing piece 282 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction.

[0157] The first front pressing piece 281 is disposed on the left side of the second front pressing piece 282. The first front pressing piece 281 is disposed vertically above the first inclined support portion 191 of the chuck base portion 181. The lower surface of the first front pressing piece 281 is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the first inclined support portion 191. That is, the lower surface of the first front pressing piece 281 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the left side, i.e., the side opposite the second front pressing piece 282, is lower in the up-down direction.

[0158] The second front pressing piece 282 is disposed vertically above the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181. The lower surface of the second front pressing piece 282 is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the second inclined support portion 192. That is, the lower surface of the second front pressing piece 282 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the right side, i.e., the side opposite the first front pressing piece 281, is lower in the up-down direction.

[0159] The rear pressing main body portion 272 shown in FIG. 3 has a first rear pressing piece (not shown) and a second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6. The first rear pressing piece (not shown) and the second rear pressing piece 286 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction.

[0160] The first rear pressing piece (not shown) is disposed on the left side of the second rear pressing piece 286. The first rear pressing piece (not shown) is disposed vertically above the first inclined support portion 191 of the chuck base portion 181, similar to the first front pressing piece 281 shown in FIG. 13. The lower surface of the first rear pressing piece (not shown) is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the first inclined support portion 191. That is, the lower surface of the first rear pressing piece (not shown) is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the position in the up-down direction becomes lower toward the left side. The lower surface of the first rear pressing piece (not shown) is arranged on the same plane as the lower surface of the first front pressing piece 281, with the positions aligned vertically and horizontally.

[0161] The second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6 is disposed vertically above the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181, similar to the second front pressing piece 282 shown in FIG. 13. The lower surface of the second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6 is inclined in the same manner as the upper surface of the second inclined support portion 192 shown in FIG. 13. That is, the lower surface of the second rear pressing piece 286 shown in FIG. 6 is inclined relative to the horizontal such that the position in the up-down direction becomes lower toward the right side. The lower surface of the second rear pressing piece 286 is arranged on the same plane as the lower surface of the second front pressing piece 282 shown in FIG. 13, with the positions aligned vertically and horizontally.

[0162] The pressing drive mechanism 273 shown in FIG. 2 integrally raises and lowers the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 shown in FIG. 6. As shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the pressing portion 162 is in a standby state when the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 are positioned at the upper limit position furthest away from the chuck portion 172.

[0163] In the standby state in which the pressing portion 162 positions the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 at the upper limit position, the transfer portion 63 grasps the accumulated paper sheets SS, which have been positioned in the short-side direction by the adjusting portion 62, at the center in the short-side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, from above and below with the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, and transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS forward while maintaining their left-right position. Then, as shown in FIG. 3, the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the chuck base portion 181 such that the center position in the short side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, coincides with the center position X in the left-right direction of the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175, which also coincides with the center position X in the left-right direction between the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second chuck portion 176. The binding portion 53 bundles the accumulated paper sheets SS placed in this manner on the chuck base portion 181 of the chuck portion 172.

[0164] From a state in which the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the chuck base portion 181, the pressing portion 162 shown in FIG. 6 lowers the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272. As a result, as shown in FIG. 13, the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272, together with the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181, clamp the accumulated paper sheets SS from above and below, deforming them into a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape configuration in which the center portion in the short side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, is curved, the left side of this center is slanted downward to the left, and the right side of this center is slanted downward to the right.

[0165] At this time, the left end of the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172, i.e., the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221, is located vertically below or slightly to the left of the lower end of the left side of the accumulated paper sheets SS, and the right end, i.e., the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231, is located vertically below or slightly to the right of the lower end of the right side of the accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, when the type of item to be bound is set, the second chuck portion 176 adjusts the distance between the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to a distance that is the same length as the distance between the bottom left end and bottom right end of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be bound when gripped by the pressing portion 162 and the chuck portion 172, or a distance that is slightly longer than this distance by a predetermined amount. As a result, in the second chuck portion 176, when accumulated paper sheets SS with a long length in the short-side direction as shown in part (a) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding, the distance between the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231 becomes wider compared to when accumulated paper sheets SS with a length in the short-side direction as shown in part (b) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding. In addition, when accumulated paper sheets SS with a short length in the short-side direction as shown in part (c) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding, the distance between the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231 becomes narrower in the second chuck portion 176 compared to when accumulated paper sheets SS with a length in the short-side direction as shown in part (b) of FIG. 4 are set as the target for binding.<2-3. Band supply portion 163>

[0166] As shown in FIG. 13, the band supply portion 163 has a band roll setting portion 291. The band supply portion 163 also includes a band supply drive mechanism 292 shown in FIG. 2 and a band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6.

[0167] As shown in FIG. 13, the band roll setting portion 291 is provided to the left of the chuck portion 172. The band roll setting portion 291 has a band setting shaft 295. The band setting shaft 295 extends in the front-rear direction. In the band roll setting portion 291, a band roll TR formed by winding a band T, which is a binding tape, into a roll is set on the band setting shaft 295. The band roll TR is set on the band setting shaft 295 in a direction in which the band T is unwound from the top to the right.

[0168] The band supply drive mechanism 292 shown in FIG. 2 has band supply rollers (not shown) that clamp the band T extending from the band roll TR set on the band setting shaft 295 shown in FIG. 13 from both sides in the thickness direction. The band supply drive mechanism 292 pulls out and unwinds the band T from the band roll TR by rotating a band supply roller (not shown) in the forward direction, and pulls back the unwound band T by rotating the band supply roller in the reverse direction.

[0169] The band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T that is unwound from the band roll TR shown in FIG. 13 by the band supply drive mechanism 292. The band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T pulled out and unwound from the band roll TR shown in FIG. 13 by the band supply drive mechanism 292 so that, as shown schematically in FIG. 13, the band T moves to the right, passes above the chuck portion 172, moves downward on the right side of the chuck portion 172, moves leftward below the chuck portion 172, moves upward on the left side of the chuck portion 172, moves rightward above the chuck portion 172, moves downward on the right side of the chuck portion 172, and moves leftward below the chuck portion 172. At this time, the band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T so that the front-end side is wound around more inward than the rear-end side, as shown in FIG. 13. At this time, the band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 guides the band T so that the band T moves at a predetermined fixed position in the front-rear direction. This fixed position is the binding position where the binding portion 53 wraps the band T around the accumulated paper sheets SS. As shown in FIG. 6, this binding position is between the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 of the pressing portion 162.

[0170] It should be noted that in the band supply portion 163 shown in FIG. 13, the axial direction of the band setting shaft 295 coincides with the long-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS during binding, and moreover the axial position of the band roll TR set on the band setting shaft 295 coincides with the binding position. The band supply portion 163 supplies the band T to the chuck portion 172 by moving the band T at a predetermined fixed position in the front-rear direction without twisting it along the way, in other words, always keeping the width direction aligned with the front-rear direction. As a result, the band T is prevented from becoming twisted and curled.<2-4. Band fixing portion 164>

[0171] The band fixing portion 164 has a band fixing member 301 and a band fixing drive mechanism 302 shown in FIG. 2.

[0172] As shown in FIG. 13, the band fixing member 301 is a plate-like member that extends perpendicularly to the left-right direction. The band fixing member 301 is disposed at the binding position in the front-rear direction, and is disposed vertically below the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 of the first chuck portion 175. The band fixing member 301 has an upper surface that spreads horizontally, extending in the front-rear direction. The band fixing member 301 has a passage hole 303 penetrating in the left-right direction at a predetermined distance downward from the upper surface thereof. The passage hole 303 is long in the front-rear direction, and has a width in the front-rear direction that allows the band T to pass through.

[0173] The band fixing drive mechanism 302 shown in FIG. 2 drives the band fixing member 301 shown in FIG. 13 to move up and down linearly while maintaining the state described above. The band guide portion 293 shown in FIG. 6 of the above-mentioned band supply portion 163 guides the band T moving to the left below the chuck portion 172 so that it enters the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301 positioned at the lower limit position in a standby state, where the vertical position of the band fixing member 301 is interrupted, so as not to interfere with the lifting and lowering of the band fixing member 301 shown in FIG. 13. The band fixing drive mechanism 302 shown in FIG. 2 raises the band fixing member 301 shown in FIG. 13 from a standby state, thereby pressing the front-end portion of the band T against the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182 with the upper surface of the band fixing member 301. As a result, the front-end portion of the band T is clamped between the upper surface of the band fixing member 301 and the lower surface of the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. Here, the portion of the cover main body portion 200 that clamps the front-end portion of the band T together with the band fixing member 301 abuts against the support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181 and is thereby reinforced by the support protrusion portions 196. As a result, the support protrusion portions 196 suppress deflection of the cover main body portion 200 when the front-end portion of the band T is clamped with the band fixing member 301.<2-5. Cutter portion 165>

[0174] The cutter portion 165 has a cutter 311 and a cutter drive mechanism 312 shown in FIG. 2.

[0175] As shown in FIG. 13, the cutter 311 is provided near the left side of the band fixing member 301. The cutter 311 is provided at the binding position in the front-rear direction.

[0176] The cutter drive mechanism 312 shown in FIG. 2 moves the cutter 311 shown in FIG. 13 up and down linearly while keeping it positioned near the left side of the band fixing member 301. The cutter portion 165 has a cutter drive mechanism 312 shown in FIG. 2 that raises the cutter 311 shown in FIG. 13 relative to the band fixing member 301, causing the cutter 311 to cut the band T inserted into the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301.<2-6. Band pressing portion 166>

[0177] The band pressing portion 166 includes a band pressing member 321 and a band pressing drive mechanism 322 shown in FIG. 2.

[0178] As shown in FIG. 13, the band pressing member 321 has a pressing member main body portion 325 and a support shaft 326. The band pressing member 321 is provided at the binding position in the front-rear direction.

[0179] The support shaft 326 is provided to the left of the band fixing member 301 and the cutter 311 and is fixed in position relative to the housing 60 shown in FIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 13, the support shaft 326 extends in the front-rear direction. The pressing member main body portion 325 is a plate-shaped member that extends rightward from the support shaft 326, that is, in the direction of the band fixing member 301 and the cutter 311. The pressing member main body portion 325 extends along the support shaft 326. As shown in FIG. 13, the band pressing member 321 is in a standby state in which the portion of the pressing member main body portion 325 opposite the support shaft 326 is lower than the support shaft 326.

[0180] The band pressing drive mechanism 322 shown in FIG. 2 rotates the pressing member main body portion 325 around the support shaft 326 so as to raise and lower the right end of the pressing member main body portion 325 shown in FIG. 13. The band pressing drive mechanism 322 shown in FIG. 2 raises the right end of the pressing member main body portion 325 of the band pressing member 321, which is in the standby state as shown in FIG. 13. As a result, the right end of the band pressing member 321 clamps, together with the cover main body portion 200, both the rear-end portion of the band T on the cut side and the front-end portion after it has been cut by the cutter 311.<2-7. Heater portion 167>

[0181] The heater portion 167 has a heater main body portion 331 and a heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2.

[0182] As shown in FIG. 13, the heater main body portion 331 is inclined downward to the left, and the upper surface extends horizontally. The heater main body portion 331 generates heat mainly from its upper surface. The heater main body portion 331 is provided at the binding position in the front-rear direction.

[0183] The heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2 drives the heater main body portion 331 shown in FIG. 13 to move up in a straight line to the upper right and move down in a straight line to the lower left while maintaining the above state. The heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2 moves the heater main body portion 331 shown in FIG. 13 toward the portion of the cover main body portion 200 reinforced by the support protrusion portions 196 when raised. The heater main body portion 331 shown in FIG. 13, which has been raised by the heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332 shown in FIG. 2, heats and thermally bonds the rear-end portion on the cut side and the front-end portion of the band T, which are in a state of being clamped between the band pressing member 321 and the cover main body portion 200, after being cut by the cutter 311, while being held in place with the cover main body portion 200. Here, the portion of the cover main body portion 200 portion that holds the front-end portion and the rear-end portion of the band T together with the heater main body portion 331 is in contact with the support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base 181, and is reinforced by the support protrusion portions 196. As a result, the support protrusion portions 196 suppress deflection of the cover main body portion 200 when the front-end portion and rear-end portion of the band T are clamped with the heater main body portion 331.<3. Discharge portion 54>

[0184] As shown in FIG. 3, the discharge portion 54 discharges the small bundles of paper sheets produced by the binding portion 53 to the outside of the paper sheet binding device 4 from a bundle discharge port 340 formed on the front surface of the housing 60.

[0185] As shown in FIG. 6, the discharge portion 54 has an upper discharge belt 341 and a lower discharge belt 342, and also has a belt swing drive mechanism 343 and a discharge drive mechanism 344 shown in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 6, the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342 are both provided in front of the chuck portion 172.

[0186] As shown in FIG. 3, the upper discharge belt 341 has a first upper discharge belt body 351 and a second upper discharge belt body 352, and has a plurality of upper discharge pulleys 353 as shown in FIG. 6.

[0187] As shown in FIG. 3, the first upper discharge belt body 351 is disposed on the left side of the second upper discharge belt body 352. The first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 are wound around a plurality of upper discharge pulleys 353 shown in FIG. 6, and thus extend in the front-rear direction. As shown in FIG. 3, the first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction.

[0188] As shown in FIG. 6, the lower discharge belt 342 has a first lower discharge belt body (not shown), a second lower discharge belt body 356, and a plurality of lower discharge pulleys 357.

[0189] The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) is disposed on the left side of the second lower discharge belt body 356. The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) and the second lower discharge belt body 356 are wound around a plurality of lower discharge pulleys 357, and thus both extend in the front-rear direction. The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) and the second lower discharge belt body 356 are aligned in the front-rear direction and are mirror-symmetrical in the left-right direction. The first lower discharge belt body (not shown) is positioned vertically below the first upper discharge belt body 351 shown in FIG. 3, and the second lower discharge belt body 356 shown in FIG. 6 is positioned vertically below the second upper discharge belt body 352.

[0190] The belt swing drive mechanism 343 shown in FIG. 2 raises and lowers the rearmost upper discharge pulley 353 shown in FIG. 6, thereby raising and lowering the rear ends of the first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 shown in FIG. 3. The upper discharge belt 341 is in a standby state when the rearmost upper discharge pulley 353 is raised or lowered.

[0191] The discharge drive mechanism 344 shown in FIG. 2 rotates the upper discharge pulley 353 shown in FIG. 6 so as to move the lower edges of the first upper discharge belt body 351 and the second upper discharge belt body 352 shown in FIG. 3 forward.

[0192] When the discharge portion 54 is in a standby state and a small bundle of paper sheets is pushed forward from the binding portion 53, the upper discharge belt 341 is driven by the discharge drive mechanism 344 shown in FIG. 2, and the belt swing drive mechanism 343 lowers the rearmost upper discharge pulley 353 shown in FIG. 6. As a result, the upper discharge belt 341 clamps the small bundle of paper sheets pushed out from the binding portion 53 between itself and the lower discharge belt 342 and moves it forward, releasing it outside the paper sheet binding device 4 from the bundle discharge port 340 shown in FIG. 3. The discharge portion 54 can also temporarily store a small bundle of paper sheets by stopping the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342 while sandwiching the bundle, making it possible to discharge a small bundle of paper sheets from the bundle discharge port 340 at any time.

[0193] Next, the operation of the counting and binding process for producing small bundles of paper sheets by the paper sheet processing device 1 will be described.

[0194] In this case, in the paper sheet processing device 1, first, the denomination of the small bundle of sheets to be produced by the paper sheet binding device 4 through the binding process is set. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 1, an operation to select the counting and binding process is input on the operation display portion 25 provided on the paper sheet counting device 2, and the type of paper sheets S subject to the counting and binding process, i.e., the type of small bundle of paper sheets to be produced, for example, "yen" as the currency type, and the denomination of "yen", for example, 10,000 yen, is selected and input. Then, the control portion 26 provided in the paper sheet counting device 2 sets this denomination as the denomination of the small bundle of sheets to be produced. Hereinbelow, this set denomination will be referred to as the first denomination.

[0195] The control portion 26 controls the paper sheet binding device 4 in accordance with the set first denomination.

[0196] The paper sheet binding device 4 first moves the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 by the moving portion 72 to a position corresponding to the size of the first denomination of paper sheet S (see parts (a) to (c) of FIG. 4). In other words, the paper sheet binding device 4 moves the wall portion 71 using the moving portion 72 so that the center position in the short-side direction, i.e., the left-right direction, of the accumulated paper sheets SS of the first denomination, which will be placed on the placement portion 61 during the counting and binding process, coincides with the center position X in the left-right direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172.

[0197] In addition, the paper sheet binding device 4 drives the chuck drive mechanism 217 shown in FIG. 9 to rotate the second shaft member 216 in one direction or the other, thereby moving the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second adjustment plate 212 to positions corresponding to the size of the paper sheets S of the first denomination (see FIGS. 8 to 10). In other words, the paper sheet binding device 4 moves the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 to positions according to the size of the paper sheets S of the first denomination placed on the chuck base portion 181. Specifically, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the drive shaft 267 in a first direction using the chuck drive motor 261, thereby rotating the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, the second chuck drive pulley 263 and the second shaft member 216 in the first direction, thereby moving the first fitting member 213 in which the first screw shaft portion 251 is screwed into the first screw hole 242 and the first adjustment plate 211 fixed thereto, and the second fitting member 214 in which the second screw shaft portion 252 is screwed into the first screw hole 242 and the second adjustment plate 212 fixed thereto, away from each other in the left-right direction, thereby moving the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to positions corresponding to the size in the short-side direction of the paper sheets S of the first denomination. Alternatively, the chuck drive mechanism 217 rotates the drive shaft 267 in a second direction using the chuck drive motor 261, moving the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 so that they approach each other in the left-right direction, thereby moving the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to positions corresponding to the size in the short-side direction of the paper sheets S of the first denomination.

[0198] Furthermore, as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, the paper sheet binding device 4 positions the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 at a receiving position corresponding to the size in the long-side direction of the first denomination of paper sheets S, and puts them into a standby state.

[0199] The paper sheet processing device 1 is then controlled by the control portion 26 to perform the following counting and accumulation process.

[0200] That is, first, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper sheets S are set in the input port 11 of the paper sheet counting device 2, and when the "Start counting and binding" button on the operation display portion 25 is operated, the input port 11 separates and takes in the set paper sheets S one by one, the leftward extension portion 21a and upward extension portion 21b of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21 convey them, and the identification portion 22 performs identification and counting. When the "Stop" button on the operation display portion 25 is operated, the paper sheet counting device 2 stops taking in the paper sheets. The paper sheet counting device 2 may be configured so that the input port 11 automatically takes in the paper sheet S when a set detection portion (not shown) provided in the input port 11 detects that the paper sheets S have been set in the input port 11.

[0201] The paper sheet processing device 1 conveys the specific paper sheets S, i.e., paper sheets S of the first denomination, set as the target for binding among the paper sheets S that have been determined to be acceptable by the identification portion 22, to the accumulation mechanism 42 of the paper sheet binding device 4 via the upward extension portion 21b and leftward extension portion 21c of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21, the coupling conveyance portion 31A of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the coupling conveyance portion 41A and branch conveyance portion 41B of the binding device internal conveyance portion 41 of the paper sheet binding device 4. On the other hand, the paper sheet processing device 1 conveys and stores paper sheets S other than the specific paper sheets S that have been determined to be acceptable by the identification portion 22, as well as paper sheets S that have been determined to be unacceptable by the identification portion 22, to the reject portion 12 using the upward extension portion 21b and the branch extension portion 21d.

[0202] The paper sheet processing device 1 may convey the paper sheets S determined to be unacceptable by the identification portion 22 to the reject portion 12. On the other hand, the paper sheet processing device 1 may convey and store paper sheets S other than the specific paper sheets S set as the target for binding among the paper sheets S determined to be acceptable by the identification portion 22 from the upward extension portion 21b and leftward extension portion 21c of the counting device internal conveyance portion 21 to a predetermined accumulation portion 32 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3 by the coupling conveyance portion 31A and branch conveyance portion 31B of the accumulation device internal conveyance portion 31 of the paper sheet accumulation device 3.

[0203] As described above, the accumulation mechanism 42 causes the paper sheets S sequentially discharged from the branch conveyance portion 41B to abut against a positioning wall (not shown) to align their positions in the short-side direction. At the same time, the accumulation mechanism 42 aligns the positions of the paper sheets S sequentially discharged from the branch conveyance portion 41B in the long-side direction by tapping them from both sides using a jogging mechanism (not shown) that strokes in accordance with the long-side length of the first denomination. Then, the paper sheets S are accumulated vertically with the center position in the long-side direction positioned at the reference position in the front-rear direction.

[0204] When a predetermined number of paper sheets S, specifically 100 sheets, are accumulated in the accumulation mechanism 42, the paper sheet binding device 4 performs the following binding process under the control of the control portion 26.

[0205] In the binding process, first, the conveyance mechanism 45 of the paper sheet binding device 4 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS accumulated in the accumulation mechanism 42 to the transfer portion 63 as shown in FIG. 3. That is, in the conveyance mechanism 45, first, the gripping portion 46 shown in FIG. 1 moves forward by being driven by the gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48, and then grips the accumulated paper sheets SS stacked in the accumulation mechanism 42 by being driven by the gripping operation drive mechanism 47. Next, in the conveyance mechanism 45, the gripping portion 46 moves to the right via the driving of the gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48, pulls out the gripped accumulated paper sheets SS from the accumulation mechanism 42, and then, after moving downward via the driving of the gripping portion movement drive mechanism 48, moves leftward as shown in FIG. 3 to convey the gripped accumulated paper sheets SS between the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 in a standby state located on the left, and places them on the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62.

[0206] During this time, the gripping portion 46 conveys the accumulated paper sheets SS while keeping the central position in the long-side direction aligned with the reference position in the front-rear direction. The gripping portion 46 then abuts the accumulated paper sheets SS against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71, causing the paper sheets to be placed on the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62. As a result, the left-right center position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 coincides with the central position X in the left-right direction of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172. Furthermore, the central position in the front-rear direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71 coincides with the reference position in the front-rear direction. When the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed on the placement portion 61 of the retention portion 52 and the support portion 75 of the wall portion 71, they are also placed on the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63, which is in a standby state, as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, and the movable block portion 143 is rotated to be in a forward-tilted state in which it is aligned in the same straight line with the grip main body portion 141.

[0207] In the paper sheet binding device 4, in parallel with the aforementioned conveyance of the accumulated paper sheets SS, as shown in FIG. 13, the band supply portion 163 rotates the band supply roller (not shown) in the forward direction by driving the band supply drive mechanism 292, thereby pulling out the band T from the band roll TR and feeding it toward the band fixing portion 164. Then, the leading end of the band T, which was formed by the cutting operation of the cutter 311 in the previous binding process and is located near the right side of the cutter 311, is guided by the band guide portion 293 to extend to the left from the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301, circle around the first chuck portion 175 of the chuck portion 172 in the order of leftward, upward, rightward, downward, and leftward, pass between the band fixing member 301 and the cover portion 182 of the first chuck portion 175, and extend to the space between the band pressing member 321 and the cover portion 182.

[0208] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the band fixing portion 164 raises the band fixing member 301 by the driving of the band pressing drive mechanism 322, and clamps the front end of the band T between the upper end of the band fixing member 301 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. At this time, the band fixing member 301 clamps the front end of the band T against a portion of the cover main body portion 200 that is reinforced by the plurality of support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base portion 181.

[0209] In the above state, the paper sheet binding device 4 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53 by the transfer portion 63, as shown in FIG. 3.

[0210] That is, first, the transfer portion 63 lowers the first gripping member 131 of the transfer portion 63 that is in a standby state as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6 by the driving of the transfer grip drive mechanism 133. As a result, the accumulated paper sheets SS, which are abutting against the abutment portion 76 of the wall portion 71 of the adjusting portion 62 and placed on the support portion 75 of the placement portion 61 and the wall portion 71 as shown in FIG. 3, are clamped between the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132. At this time, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 grip the central position in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS. Furthermore, the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 of the transfer portion 63 grip the accumulated paper sheets SS at a position to the front of the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS, spaced at a specified distance depending on the length in the long-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0211] Next, the paper sheet binding device 4 releases the grip of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the gripping portion 46, through the driving of the gripping operation drive mechanism 47 of the conveyance mechanism 45. Thereafter, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the transfer portion 63 advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 a certain distance by means of the driving of the transfer drive mechanism 134 while keeping their positions in the left-right and up-down directions unchanged. As a result, the accumulated paper sheets SS gripped by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are positioned between the pressing portion 162 and the chuck portion 172, which are in a standby state as shown in part (a) of FIG. 6, with the central position in the left-right direction coinciding with the central position X in the left-right center position of the first chuck portion 175 and the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172. At this time, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, the accumulated paper sheets SS are arranged so that the binding position of the band T by the binding portion 53 is located at a position a certain predetermined distance L2 forward from the rear end. When the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 move forward, the second gripping member 132 moves within the recessed portion 198 of the chuck base portion 181 shown in FIG. 3.

[0212] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the pressing portion 162 lowers the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272 by the driving the pressing drive mechanism 273 as shown in FIG. 13. Then, as shown the front pressing main body portion 271 in FIG. 13, the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272, together with the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181, deform the accumulated paper sheets SS into a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape in which the center portion in the left-right direction is curved, the left side of this center portion slopes downward to the left, and the right side of this center portion slopes downward to the right. When the accumulated paper sheets SS are deformed in this manner, the lower left end is located vertically above or slightly to the right of the left end of the second chuck portion 176 arranged to correspond to the first denomination of the chuck portion 172, i.e., the left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221, and the lower right end is located vertically above or slightly to the left of the right end of the second chuck portion 176 arranged to correspond to the first denomination, i.e., the right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231. In other words, the accumulated paper sheets SS are covered at the lower left and right ends by the second chuck portion 176 from vertically below.

[0213] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the transfer portion 63, by the driving of the transfer gripping drive mechanism 133, raises the first gripping member 131, thereby releasing the grip of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132. Next, the transfer portion 63 moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 to the receiving position by the driving of the transfer drive mechanism 134, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, and returns to the standby state. When the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 are positioned at the receiving position, the second gripping member 132 moves rearward away from the accumulated paper sheets SS, causing the movable block portion 143 to rotate around the support shaft 142 due to the biasing force of a spring member not shown, thereby assuming an upright position rising up from the grip main body portion 141.

[0214] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the band supply portion 163 shown in FIG. 13 reversely rotates the band supply roller (not shown) by the driving of the band supply drive mechanism 292, thereby pulling back the fed-out band T. Then, the band T, the front end of which is clamped and fixed between the band fixing member 301 and the cover main body portion 200 of the cover part 182, is pulled back toward the band roll TR as part of it passes through the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301, and is wrapped around and tightened around the upper parts of the left and right ends of the accumulated paper sheets SS, the lower left end of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the lower right end of the second chuck adjusting portion 231, and the underside of the cover main body portion 200, as shown in FIG. 14. As a result, the upper part of the band T imitates a shape that conforms to the shape of the upper surface of the accumulated paper sheets SS. At this time, as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, the band T is wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS at a position located a predetermined distance L2 forward from the rear end, regardless of the length in the of the long side of the accumulated paper sheets SS. In other words, the transfer portion 63 transfers the accumulated paper sheets SS toward the binding portion 53 such that the binding position of the band T by the binding portion 53 is at a constant position that is a predetermined distance L2 from the rear end of the accumulated paper sheets SS regardless of the length of the long side of the accumulated paper sheets SS.

[0215] As shown in FIG. 14, since the lower left and lower right ends of the accumulated paper sheets SS are covered by the second chuck portion 176, they do not come into contact with the band T that is wrapped around and tightened as described above. In other words, the second chuck portion 176 restricts contact between the band T and the end portions opposite the center of bending in the thickness direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS on both sides in the short-side direction of the accumulated paper sheets SS. Therefore, the lower left and lower right ends of the accumulated paper sheets SS do not rub against the band T, and so are not turned up by the band T when the band T is wound up.

[0216] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the band pressing portion 166 shown in FIG. 13 rotates the band pressing member 321 around the support shaft 326 by the driving of the band pressing drive mechanism 322, thereby raising the tip of the pressing member main body portion 325 on the side opposite the support shaft 326. Then, the tip of the pressing member main body portion 325 clamps and fixes both the front-end portion of the band T located below the undersurface of the cover main body portion 200 and the middle portion located below this portion between itself and the undersurface of the cover main body portion 200.

[0217] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the cutter portion 165 raises the cutter 311 by the driving of the cutter drive mechanism 312, and cuts the middle portion of the band T near the left side of the passage hole 303 of the band fixing member 301. Even when cut in this manner, the band T wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS does not loosen because the rear-end portion, which is the side cut by the cutter 311, and the front-end portion opposite this portion are clamped and fixed between the pressing member main body portion 325 and the cover main body portion 200.

[0218] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the cutter portion 165 lowers the cutter 311 by the driving of the cutter drive mechanism 312, and the band fixing portion 164 lowers the band fixing member 301 by the driving of the band fixing drive mechanism 302. Thereafter, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the heater portion 167, by the driving of the heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332, raises the heater main body portion 331 and positions it at the bonding position. Then, the heater main body portion 331 clamps the rear-end portion of the portion of the band T wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS, which extends to the right of the pressing member main body portion 325, and the front-end portion opposite this rear-end portion, between itself and the underside of the cover main body portion 200 of the cover portion 182. As a result, the rear-end portion and the front-end portion of the band T are thermally bonded together by the heat of the heater main body portion 331. At this time, the heater main body portion 331 clamps the cut-side portion and front-end portion of the band T against the portion of the cover main body portion 200 reinforced by the multiple support protrusion portions 196 of the chuck base 181.

[0219] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the heater portion 167, by the driving of the heater lifting / lowering drive mechanism 332, lowers the heater main body portion 331 to position it at the standby position. At the same time, the band pressing portion 166, by the driving of the band pressing drive mechanism 322, rotates the band pressing member 321 to lower the tip end of the pressing member main body portion 325 on the side opposite the support shaft 326 to the standby position. As a result, as shown in FIG. 14, the band T is wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS, the second chuck portion 176, and the cover main body portion 200, whereby the rear-end portion and the front-end portion are fixed.

[0220] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, by the driving of the chuck drive mechanism 217, the second chuck portion 176 causes the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 to approach each other. Specifically, the chuck drive motor 261 shown in FIGS. 8 and 10 rotates the drive shaft 267 in the second direction, thereby rotating the second shaft member 216 in the second direction via the first chuck drive pulley 262, the chuck drive belt 264, and the second chuck drive pulley 263. As a result, the first fitting member 213 and the first adjustment plate 211 screwed onto the first screw shaft portion 251 of the second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 at the first screw hole 242 shown in FIG. 11, and the second fitting member 214 and the second adjustment plate 212 screwed onto the second screw shaft portion 252 of the second shaft member 216 shown in FIGS. 7 and 9 at the second screw hole 247 shown in FIG. 11 move closer to each other, bringing the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 closer to each other.

[0221] In this way, the second chuck portion 176 moves in the approaching direction after the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172 are bound by the binding portion 53 as shown in FIG. 14. As a result, the state in which the band T wrapped around the accumulated paper sheets SS is pressed by the first chuck adjusting portion 221 and the second chuck adjusting portion 231 of the second chuck portion 176 is released. As a result, the clamping force of the band T on the accumulated paper sheets SS and the chuck portion 172 is slightly loosened. This makes it easier to remove the band T from the chuck portion 172. At this time, the band T is in contact with the cover main body portion 200 of the first chuck portion 175 of the chuck portion 172.

[0222] Next, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the pressing portion 162, by the driving of the pressing drive mechanism 273, raises the front pressing main body portion 271 and the rear pressing main body portion 272, returning the device to the standby state. Even in this state, the accumulated paper sheets SS are pressed against the upper surfaces of the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181 by the tension of the band T, causing the central portion in the left-right direction to curve, with the left side from this central portion sloping downward to the left, and the right side from this central portion sloping downward to the right, thereby maintaining a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape.

[0223] Next, a bundle discharge process is carried out.

[0224] That is, in the paper sheet binding device 4, first, the transfer portion 63, by the driving of the transfer drive mechanism 134, advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, which have been retracted to the receiving position as shown in part (b) of FIG. 6, a fixed distance forward regardless of the type of accumulated paper sheets SS. As a result, the second gripping member 132 pushes the accumulated paper sheets SS from the rear to the front by the movable block portion 143 in the upright position. Then, the accumulated paper sheets SS move forward together with the band T due to the frictional force caused by the tension of the band T wrapped around them, and the band T is released forward from the chuck portion 172. At this time, the second gripping member 132 also moves within the recessed portion 198 of the chuck base portion 181.

[0225] In this way, when the accumulated paper sheets SS and the band T move forward together and the band T is released forward from the chuck portion 172, the portion of the band T that was wound around the cover main body portion 200 becomes slack. As a result, the accumulated paper sheets SS, which had previously been pressed against the upper surfaces of the first inclined support portion 191 and the second inclined support portion 192 of the chuck base portion 181 by the band T, forming a mirror-symmetrical, approximately inverted V-shape, return to a flat state. In this manner, the accumulated paper sheets SS are bound with the band T to form a small bundle of sheets.

[0226] In the bundle discharge process, in the paper sheet binding device 4, the second gripping member 132, which is moving further forward, pushes the small bundle of sheets prepared as described above from the chuck portion 172 toward the discharge portion 54.

[0227] In the paper sheet binding device 4, during the bundle discharge process, the transfer portion 63 advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132, and in parallel therewith, the discharge portion 54 rotates the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342 by the driving of the discharge drive mechanism 344. At the same time, the paper sheet binding device 4 lowers the upper discharge pulley 353 at the rear end by the driving of the belt swing drive mechanism 343. Within the upper discharge belt 341, the upper discharge pulley 353 at the rear end had previously been positioned in the upper limit standby position, facilitating smooth entry of the accumulated paper sheets SS. As a result, the small bundle of paper sheets moved forward by the transfer portion 63 is clamped between the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342, moved further forward, and discharged outside the paper sheet binding device 4 from the bundle discharge port 340 formed in the housing 60.

[0228] The paper sheet binding device 4 advances the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 to a predetermined position, transfers the small bundle of paper sheets to the discharge portion 54, and then moves the first gripping member 131 and the second gripping member 132 backward to the receiving position, placing them in the standby state. In addition, after discharging the small bundle of paper sheets from the bundle discharge port 340, the paper sheet binding device 4 stops the discharge drive mechanism 344 to stop the upper discharge belt 341 and the lower discharge belt 342, and by the driving of the belt swing drive mechanism 343, raises the upper discharge pulley 353 at the rear end of the upper discharge belt 341 to return it to the standby position.

[0229] According to the paper sheet binding device 4 described above, the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 are placed onto a placement position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS by the retention portion 52 of the binding mechanism 51, and then transferred to the binding portion 53, where they are bound by the binding portion 53. Therefore, even when small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes are produced, the paper sheet binding device 4 can perform binding according to the size, and can produce small bundles of paper sheets well.

[0230] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, when the retention portion 52 places the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 on the placement portion 61, the adjusting portion 62, which is movable relative to the placement portion 61, adjusts the loading position of the accumulated paper sheets SS according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be placed on the placement portion 61. Then, the transfer portion 63 transports the paper sheets S placed on the placement portion 61 to the binding portion 53, and the binding portion 53 bundles the paper sheets S. Therefore, even when small bundles of paper sheets of multiple sizes are produced, the paper sheet binding device 4 can more effectively perform binding according to size, enabling the production of small bundles of paper sheets with improved quality.

[0231] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the adjusting portion 62 moves to a position according to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61, adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61, and aligns the central position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 with the central position X of the chuck portion 172 on which the accumulated paper sheets SS transferred from the adjusting portion 62 by the transfer portion 63 are placed. Therefore, even when small bundles of paper sheets of multiple sizes are produced, the paper sheet binding device 4 can more effectively perform binding according to size, enabling the production of small bundles of paper sheets with improved quality.

[0232] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the adjusting portion 62 adjusts the placement position of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the placement portion 61 by moving the wall portion 71 that abuts against the accumulated paper sheets SS conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45 when placing the accumulated paper sheets SS on the placement portion 61, using the moving portion 72 to move the wall portion 71 in accordance with the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS to be placed on the placement portion 61. Therefore, even when producing small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes, the paper sheet binding device 4 can effectively perform binding in accordance with the size with a simple structure.

[0233] In addition, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the binding mechanism 51 that binds the accumulated paper sheets SS causes the second chuck portion 176 of the chuck portion 172 on which the accumulated paper sheets SS are placed to move to a position corresponding to the size of the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172. Therefore, even when producing small bundles of paper sheets of a plurality of sizes, the paper sheet binding device 4 can position the second chuck portion 176 at a position according to the size, can perform binding according to the size, and thereby can effectively produce small bundles of paper sheets.

[0234] Furthermore, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, the second chuck portion 176 has a pair of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 that are provided so as to be movable toward and away from each other. Therefore, even when producing small bundles of paper sheets of multiple sizes, the paper sheet binding device 4 can with a simple structure position the second chuck portion 176 at a position according to the size, allowing for appropriate binding according to the size.

[0235] In addition, according to the paper sheet binding device 4, after the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172 have been bound by the binding portion 53, by bringing the pair of the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 closer together, the band T wrapped together with the accumulated paper sheets SS around the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212 can be slightly loosened. Therefore, the small bundles of paper sheets can be smoothly dispensed from the binding portion 53.Modifications

[0236] In the paper sheet binding device 4, the second chuck portion 176 may be configured to change the winding strength of the band T when the band T is wrapped around and bound by the binding portion 53 around the accumulated paper sheets SS placed on the chuck portion 172. That is, when the winding strength of the band T is increased relative to the reference winding strength, the width of the second chuck portion 176 is decreased relative to the reference. When the winding strength of the band T is to be weakened relative to the reference winding strength, the width of the second chuck portion 176 is made wider relative to the reference. In this case, for example, the winding strength of the band T can be set for each denomination of currency. For example, the winding strength can be set in multiple stages for each currency, specifically, 11 stages from "-5" to "+5" including the standard winding strength of "0".

[0237] When a setting operation for the winding strength is input to the operation display portion 25, the paper sheet binding device 4 causes the operation display portion 25 to display a winding strength setting screen 370 as shown in FIG. 15. The winding strength setting screen 370 has a currency type display portion 371 that displays the currency type, a denomination display portion 372 that displays the denomination, and a winding strength display portion 373 that displays the winding strength. The winding strength setting screen 370 also has a first selection operation portion 374, a second selection operation portion 375, a confirmation operation portion 376, and a cancel operation portion 377.

[0238] When the currency type display portion 371 on the winding strength setting screen 370 is touched, the screen enters a mode in which the currency type can be changed. In this state, when the first selection operation portion 374 or the second selection operation portion 375 is touched, the display of the currency type display portion 371 is switched to other currency types (dollars, euros, etc.) in sequence.

[0239] Furthermore, when the denomination display portion 372 is touched on the winding strength setting screen 370, the screen enters a mode in which the denomination of the currency types displayed on the currency type display portion 371 can be changed. In this state, when the first selection operation portion 374 is touched or the second selection operation portion 375 is touched, the denomination display portion 372 switches sequentially to each denomination of the currency type displayed in the currency type display portion 371.

[0240] Furthermore, when the winding strength display portion 373 is touched on the winding strength setting screen 370, the screen enters a mode in which the winding strength during the binding process can be changed for the currency type displayed in the currency type display portion 371 and the denomination displayed in the denomination display portion 372. In this state, when the first selection operation portion 374 or the second selection operation portion 375 is touched, the winding strength display portion 373 switches sequentially among "-5", "-4", "-3", "-2", "-1", "0", "+1", "+2", "+3", "+4", and "+5".

[0241] When the confirmation operation portion 376 is touched on the winding strength setting screen 370, the paper sheet binding device 4 performs the binding process using the settings displayed in the currency type display portion 371, denomination display portion 372, and winding strength display portion 373 at that time.

[0242] When the winding strength is increased for the same currency type and denomination, such as "+1" rather than "0" or "+2" rather than "+1", the binding portion 53 of the paper sheet binding device 4 narrows the gap between the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212. As a result, the length of the band T used for winding the band T decreases, thereby increasing the winding strength of the band T once the small bundle of paper sheets is formed. For example, in the illustration of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 of the first adjustment plate 211 in FIG. 16, if the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "0" is as shown in part (b) of FIG. 16, then the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "+1" will be as shown in part (a) of FIG. 16, a predetermined amount to the right of the position when the winding strength is "0".

[0243] Conversely, when the winding strength is weakened for the same currency type and denomination, such as from "-1" to "0" or from "-2" to "-1", the binding portion 53 of the paper sheet binding device 4 widens the gap between the first adjustment plate 211 and the second adjustment plate 212. As a result, the length of the band T used for winding the band T increases, thereby reducing the winding strength of the band T once the small bundle of paper sheets is formed. For example, compared to the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "0" as shown in part (b) of FIG. 16, the position of the left end portion of the first chuck adjusting portion 221 when the winding strength is "-1" will be as shown in part (c) of FIG. 16, which is a predetermined amount to the left of the position when the winding strength is "0".

[0244] In addition to setting the winding strength of the band T for each denomination of a given currency, different winding strengths may be set for genuine notes and soiled notes of the same denomination.

[0245] In the above embodiment, no mention is made of the number of types of binding targets in one counting and binding process, but it is also possible to set not just one type but multiple types as binding targets in one counting and binding process. In such a case, the control portion 26 accommodates, for example, a first type of paper sheet S in one accumulation mechanism 42 and a second type of paper sheet S different from the first type of paper sheet S in the other accumulation mechanism 42. At this time, the control portion 26 moves various components of the binding mechanism 51 to positions corresponding to the size of the first type of paper sheet S while either the first type of paper sheet S is accumulated in one accumulation mechanism 42 in the predetermined binding unit sheet count (e.g., 100 sheets), or while the accumulated first type of paper sheet S is being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45. In addition, the control portion 26 moves various components of the binding mechanism 51 to positions corresponding to the size of the second type of paper sheet S while either the second type of paper sheet S is accumulated in the other accumulation mechanism 42 in the predetermined binding unit sheet count (e.g., 100 sheets), or while the accumulated second type of paper sheet is being conveyed by the conveyance mechanism 45.

[0246] In the above embodiment, as shown in FIG. 1, the paper sheet processing device 1 including the paper sheet counting device 2, the paper sheet accumulation device 3, and the paper sheet binding device 4 has been described as an example. However, it is also possible to configure a paper sheet binding device dedicated to counting and binding that does not have the paper sheet accumulation device 3 and combines the paper sheet counting device 2 and the paper sheet binding device 4. In this case, the leftward extension portion 21c of the paper sheet counting device 2 is connected to the coupling conveyance portion 41A of the paper sheet binding device 4.Description of Reference Symbols

[0247] 4 Paper sheet binding device 45 Conveyance mechanism 51 Binding mechanism 52 Retention portion 53 Binding portion 61 Placement portion 62 Adjusting portion 63 Transfer portion 71 Wall portion 72 Moving portion 172 Chuck portion 175 First chuck portion 176 Second chuck portion 211 First adjustment plate 212 Second adjustment plate S Paper sheet SS Accumulated paper sheets

Examples

Embodiment Construction

[0010]A paper sheet processing device including a paper sheet binding device according to an embodiment of the present disclosure will be described below with reference to the drawings. The paper sheet processing device 1 shown in FIG. 1 performs a counting and sorting process of counting and sorting banknotes as paper sheets S, and a counting and binding process of counting and binding banknotes as paper sheets S. In the counting and sorting process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into countable paper sheets S and rejected paper sheets S, and further counts and sorts the countable paper sheets S by type before storing them. In addition, in the counting and binding process, the paper sheet processing device 1 classifies the inserted paper sheets S into paper sheets S to be bound and rejected paper sheets S that are not to be bound, and then accumulates the paper sheets S to be bound in groups of a predetermined number and binds them to for...

Claims

1. A paper sheet binding device comprising: a conveyance mechanism that conveys paper sheets in an accumulated state; and a binding mechanism that binds the paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism, wherein the binding mechanism comprises: a retention portion that places the paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism onto a placement position corresponding to a size of the paper sheets and transfers the placed paper sheets; and a binding portion that binds the paper sheets transferred from the retention portion.

2. The paper sheet binding device according to claim 1, wherein the retention portion comprises: a placement portion on which the paper sheets conveyed by the conveyance mechanism is placed; an adjusting portion that is provided movably with respect to the placement portion and adjusts a placement position of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion corresponding to the size of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion; and a transfer portion that transfers the paper sheets placed on the placement portion to the binding portion.

3. The paper sheet binding device according to claim 2, wherein the binding portion comprises a chuck portion on which the paper sheets are placed when the paper sheets are transferred from the adjusting portion by the transfer portion, and the adjusting portion moves to a position corresponding to the size of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion to adjust the placement position of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion, and aligns a central position of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion with a central position of the chuck portion.

4. The paper sheet binding device according to claim 2 or 3, wherein the adjusting portion comprises: a wall portion that contacts the paper sheets; and a moving portion that moves the wall portion corresponding to the size of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion, and wherein the wall portion moves to a position corresponding to the size of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion to adjust the placement position of the paper sheets placed on the placement portion.

Images