Sheet feeding device

Abstract

To suppress an erroneous operation such as overlapping, disturbance and the like of sheets, when separating a sheet from a bundle of stacked sheets and delivering the sheet.SOLUTION: A pressing sheet 7 of a sheet delivery device is oscillated between an initial position and an operation position by operation of a sheet raising lever 26. At the operation position, a bundle of stacked sheets causes a sheet on a front surface to adhere to an adhesive tape. The oscillation of the sheet raising lever 26 is detected by an angle detection sensor 50, and middle bending means is operated by control means. At the middle bending means, a wedge bar 33 bends a middle part of the bundle of stacked sheets so as to separate the other portion of the bundle of stacked sheets from the sheet. In the case of a plurality of bundle of the stacked sheets, the oscillation of the sheet raising lever 26 is limited, and the angle detection sensor 50 cannot detect it, so that the operation of the wedge bar 33 is prohibited.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 4

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a sheet feeding device capable of separating and feeding sheets one by one from a sheet feed section on which a sheet stack in which a plurality of sheets are stacked is placed. [Background technology]

[0002] 2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a packaging device that can pay out a single sheet from a sheet stack in which a large number of packaging sheets are stacked, and automatically wrap or package a product of an appropriate shape. For example, in the packaging device described in Patent Document 1, the leading end of a sheet stack in which many sheets are stacked is bent upward by a sheet attachment mechanism, and the first sheet on the front side is attached to an adhesive tape or the like. Then, a lifting bar provided in the sheet attachment mechanism pushes the middle part (the middle part in the longitudinal direction of the sheet) of the sheet stack with the bent leading end to bend it to the opposite side, thereby separating the first sheet from the remaining sheets in the sheet stack. The first separated sheet is sandwiched between a pressure roller and a fixed roller for conveying, and is sent to the packaging position with adhesive tape attached. At the packaging position, the sheet is positioned under the product and wrapped while being moved up and down by an elevator or the like. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 7-205913 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] However, the packaging device described in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1 needs to place a sheet stack with a larger number of sheets stacked on the sheet feed table in order to improve the efficiency of sheet feeding and packaging. On the other hand, when the number of sheets stacked in the sheet stack increases, the stacking state of the sheet stack may be disturbed by pressing the wedge bar to the position where the middle part of the sheet stack is to be bent and remaining. Moreover, depending on the grain direction of the sheets, humidity, etc., the sheet stack may become disturbed by adjacent sheets entangling with each other due to friction, or multiple sheets may be fed out at the same time. Therefore, bending a stack of many sheets with a wedge bar causes malfunctions such as a plurality of sheets being disorganized or being fed out in an overlapping state when the sheets are fed out.

[0005] The present invention has been made in consideration of the above-mentioned situation, and aims to provide a sheet dispensing device that suppresses malfunctions such as sheet overlapping or disorder when separating and dispensing sheets from a sheet stack. [Means for solving the problem]

[0006] The sheet dispensing device according to the present invention is characterized in that it comprises a paper feed section that holds a sheet stack of sheets, a sheet raising member that bends the leading end of the sheet stack held in the paper feed section, a sheet holding member that holds one sheet of the sheet stack bent by the sheet raising member, mid-bending means that bends a mid-portion of the sheet stack to separate the remaining sheet stack from the one sheet, a conveying means that pays out the one sheet held by the sheet holding member, and a control means that selects whether to operate the mid-bending means. According to the present invention, the control means can select whether or not to operate the midway bending means depending on the number of sheets in the sheet stack, the grain direction of the sheets, humidity, etc. When the midway bending means is operated, the leading end is bent by the sheet raising member to hold one sheet with the sheet holding member, and the midway bending means bends the middle part of the sheet stack to separate the second or more remaining sheets from the one sheet. Then, the one sheet held by the sheet holding member can be conveyed and fed out by the conveying means. Also, if the midway bending means is not operated because, for example, there are a large number of sheets accumulated, the sheet can be separated from the first sheet held by the sheet holding means by returning the sheet raising member from the bent position.

[0007] In addition, the sheet dispensing device according to the present invention preferably comprises a sheet raising drive means for driving the sheet raising member to a position where the tip of the sheet stack is bent, a first elastic member provided on the sheet raising drive means for changing the movement range of the sheet raising member according to the number of sheets in the sheet stack, and a sensor for detecting that the sheet raising member moves within a predetermined operating range, and preferably activates the mid-way bending means when the sensor detects movement of the sheet raising member, and does not activate the mid-way bending means when the sensor does not detect movement of the sheet raising member. In the automatic mode, the sheet raising member is driven by the sheet raising drive means to a position where the leading end of the sheet stack is bent, and when the sensor can detect the operation of the sheet raising member due to the biasing force of the first elastic member when the number of sheets in the stack is relatively small, the mid-bending means is operated to bend the mid-section of the sheet stack to the opposite side to separate the first sheet held by the sheet holding member from the remaining stack of sheets. When the number of sheets in the stack is relatively large and the operating range of the sheet raising member is small and the sensor cannot detect the operation, the mid-bending means is not operated, and the first sheet held by the sheet holding member is not bent to the opposite side to separate the remaining stack of sheets.

[0008] The apparatus may also be provided with a setting input means for instructing the control means to select at least one of a manual mode in which the midway bending means is operated manually and an automatic mode in which the midway bending means is automatically selected, as to whether or not the midway bending means is to be operated. When the manual mode is selected by the setting input means, it is possible to manually select whether or not to operate the midway bending means, and when the automatic mode is selected, it is possible to automatically select whether or not to operate the midway bending means depending on the amount of accumulated sheet stack.

[0009] The midway bending means preferably includes a second elastic member that increases or decreases the amount of bending of the midway portion of the stack of sheets depending on the number of sheets in the stack of sheets. By providing a second elastic member in the path of operation of the mid-bending means, the amount by which the mid-bending portion of the sheet stack is bent can be varied depending on the number of sheets in the sheet stack, thereby preventing disturbance of the sheet stack caused by excessive mid-bending and enabling stable holding and feeding of sheets. Effect of the Invention

[0010] According to the sheet feeding device of the present invention, the sheet stack can be maintained in an optimal bent state by switching between operation and non-operation of the midway bending means depending on the number of sheets in the sheet stack. Therefore, the sheet stack can be controlled to be bent or not bent in the midway depending on the number of sheets, and the sheets can be separated and fed out one by one reliably while preventing the sheets from becoming disordered or overlapping. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] 1 is an explanatory diagram showing a process of wrapping and packaging a product using a sheet fed out by a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. [Diagram 2] 1 is a perspective view of a sheet feeding device according to an embodiment. [Diagram 3] 3 is an explanatory diagram of a state in which a midway bending means in the sheet feeding device shown in FIG. 2 is operated. FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a main part of a sheet feeding device. [Diagram 5] 4A and 4B are diagrams showing a driving mechanism of a sheet raising member. [Figure 6] FIG. 13 is a diagram showing a drive mechanism of the midway bending means. [Figure 7] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a sheet feeding device. [Figure 8] 11(a) to 11(e) are diagrams illustrating a sheet feeding process when the midway bending means is operated. [Figure 9] 13(a) to 13(d) are diagrams illustrating a sheet feeding process when the midway bending means is not operated. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0012] Hereinafter, the sheet feeding device 5 in the packaging device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the process of unwinding a packaging sheet 2 and wrapping in a packaging device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The sheet 2 is formed, for example, in a rectangular shape, but any appropriate shape can be selected. The sheet 2 is paper, but may be made of other materials such as film. In Fig. 1, one sheet 2 unwound from a sheet stack with its leading end bent upward has adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c unwound from respective tape reels (not shown) and adhered to the center and both ends of the leading edge, and each is cut by a cutter (not shown).

[0013] The adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c are partially attached to the tip of the sheet 2, and the remaining portions are exposed. The adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c may be made of any suitable material, but in this embodiment, for example, packing tape is used. The unwound sheet 2 is then moved upward and a roughly rectangular parallelepiped product S is placed on top of it. Next, the sheet 2 is lowered by an elevator (not shown) and wrapped around the body, with both side edges glued together with the central adhesive tape 3a. Furthermore, the side flaps of the sheet 2 formed on both sides of the product are folded up and down and glued together with adhesive tapes 3b and 3c.

[0014] Next, the sheet feeding device 5 that sequentially feeds out one sheet 2 for packaging will be described with reference to Figures 2 to 7. The sheet feeding device 5 of the packaging device 1 shown in Figures 2 and 4 is a device that feeds out one sheet 2 from the sheet stack 2A placed on the paper feed table 8 shown in Figure 3 and transports the sheet 2 to a position where the product S on the elevator is to be packaged. In the sheet dispensing device 5 shown in Figure 2, a roughly U-shaped pressing sheet 7 for placing a sheet stack 2A composed of stacked packaging sheets 2 is installed in the middle of the height direction of the dispensing device main body 6 so as to be able to swing diagonally upward.

[0015] 3, below the pressing sheet 7, a sheet feed table 8 on which the sheet stack 2A is placed is disposed horizontally as a sheet feed section, and a leading end 8a of the sheet feed table 8 is curved upward. The pressing sheet 7 is disposed above the leading end 8a, and the leading end of the sheet stack 2A placed substantially horizontally on the sheet feed table 8 by the pressing sheet 7 is curved upward and placed on the pressing sheet 7 from the leading end 8a. 2 and 3, a conveying means 10 is disposed above the pressing sheet 7 for feeding one sheet 2 on the front side separated from the sheet stack 2A. The conveying means 10 has a fixed rotating roller 11 and a movable roller 12 that can swing up and down, disposed horizontally. A circulating belt 14 that can be rotated by a drive motor (not shown) is provided on side walls 13 on both sides of the rotating roller 11. The circulating belt 14 rotates the transmission roller 11a of the rotating roller 11, causing the rotating roller 11 to rotate on its axis.

[0016] Both ends of the movable roller 12 are connected to an arm portion 16, and the arm portion 16 is connected to a swing shaft 17 provided on the side wall 13. The opposite end of the arm portion 16 is connected to a link (not shown), which is operated by a drive source (not shown) to rotate the swing shaft 17 by a predetermined angle. When the swing shaft 17 rotates within a predetermined angle range, the movable roller 12 can be selectively swung via the arm portion 16 between a contact position where the movable roller 12 is in contact with the rotating roller 11 while sandwiching the sheet 2, and a retracted position where the movable roller 12 is separated upward. When the movable roller 12 is in contact with the rotating roller 11, the movable roller 12 can sandwich and feed out one sheet 2 separated from the sheet stack 2A, and when the movable roller 12 is swung upward and separated, the pressing sheet 7 and the sheet stack 2A can be raised to come into contact with the rotating roller 11.

[0017] In the payout device main body 6, tape receiving plate portions 19a, 19b, 19c for positioning the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c paid out from the tape reel are arranged at a distance in the horizontal direction above the rotating roller 11. With the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c paid out on the tape receiving plate portions 19a, 19b, 19c positioned, the pressing sheet 7 on which the sheet stack 2A is placed is raised clockwise, whereby the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c are affixed to the leading edge of one sheet 2 on the surface close to the rotating roller 11 (see FIG. 1). Then, when the pressing sheet 7 is returned in a direction away from the rotating roller 11, the sheet stack 2A other than the single sheet 2 having the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c attached thereto is also separated together. In Fig. 3, above the movable roller 12 in the separating position, there is disposed a sheet transport guide portion 20 for transporting the single sheet 2 having the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c attached to its leading end portion to a packaging position for the product S. The sheet transport guide portion 20 is formed in a substantially convex curved shape having a clearance space 20a for transporting the sheet 2.

[0018] Next, the sheet raising driving means 21 of the pressing sheet 7 and the midway bending means 22 of the sheet stack 2A will be described with reference to Figs. The pressure sheet 7 is wound in a substantially U-shape around the sheet bar 25 extending horizontally, and has a width wider than the width of the sheet 2. The surface of the pressure sheet 7 facing the delivery device main body 6 extends below a wedge bar 33 (described later) and is engaged with the rear surface side of the tip 8a of the paper feed tray 8. The other surface of the pressure sheet 7 is engaged with a sheet tension bar 23. Both ends of the sheet tension bar 23 are connected to the wedge bar 33 via spring members 24. This allows the pressure sheet 7 to be suspended in a tensed state. Both ends of the sheet bar 25 are supported by sheet raising levers 26, which will be described later, so as to be able to swing toward and away from the rotating roller 11. These members are included in the sheet raising drive means 21. In Fig. 4, for example, roughly L-shaped swing levers 27 are disposed between the pressing sheets 7 and the sheet raising levers 26, and the upper ends of the swing levers 27 are supported by the sheet bar 25 so as to be able to swing. An operating shaft 28 is provided penetrating each swing lever 27, and a roller 29 is provided on the outer side of the operating shaft 28 as an engagement piece. The roller 29 is supported by the operating shaft 28 so as to be able to rotate freely, and also rotates freely when an engagement hook 34, which will be described later, comes into contact with the roller 29.

[0019] 3 and 4, a wedge lever 30 having a generally dogleg shape is supported on the operating shaft 28 so as to be able to swing relative to the rocking lever 27. A long hole 27a is formed in the rocking lever 27 at the top of the operating shaft 28, and a pin 30a provided on the wedge lever 30 is inserted into this long hole 27a. Therefore, the wedge lever 30 is able to swing relative to the rocking lever 27 within the range of the long hole 27a and the pin 30a, centered on the operating shaft 28. In addition, a spring 31 is stretched between the lower end of the rocking lever 27 and the upper end of the wedge lever 30. The spring 31 biases the rocking lever 27 and the wedge lever 30 in a direction in which they are mutually linear. A horizontally extending wedge bar 33 is connected to the lower end of each wedge lever 30 disposed on both sides of the pressing sheet 7. When a link member 37, which will be described later, is activated, the wedge bar 33 pushes one side of the pressing sheet 7 to swing it toward the sheet stack 2A, thereby bending the sheet stack 2A at its midpoint (see FIG. 3).

[0020] Furthermore, on both sides of the wedge bar 33, engagement hooks 34 are disposed between the swing lever 27 and the seat raising lever 26. One end of each engagement hook 34 is swingably supported by a swing shaft 35 fixed to the side wall 13, and the swing shaft 35 is supported by a substantially U-shaped receiving plate 36 fixed to the side wall 13 to receive one end of the engagement hook 34. The engagement hook 34 is formed, for example, in a substantially V-shape, and a link member 37 that is vertically movable is connected and supported near a V-shaped recess (see FIG. 6). The engagement hook 34 is swung clockwise about the swing shaft 35 by the upward swing of the link member 37, allowing it to come into contact with the roller 29 (operating shaft 28) provided on the swing lever 27. When the sheet raising lever 26 swings counterclockwise, the engagement hook 34 comes into contact with the roller 29 (operating shaft 28), causing the swing lever 27 and the wedge lever 30 to swing, and the wedge bar 33 pushes the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A, allowing it to be bent. The wedge bar 33, the wedge lever 30, the swing lever 27, the engagement hook 34, and the link member 37 are included in the middle bending means 22 that bends the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A.

[0021] Next, a drive mechanism for the sheet raising levers 26 disposed on both sides of the pressing sheet 7 will be described with reference to Fig. 5. This drive mechanism is included in the sheet raising drive means 21. Each sheet raising lever 26 is formed, for example, by bending into a substantially dogleg shape. A sheet bar 25 covered by the pressure sheet 7 is provided at the upper end of the sheet raising lever 26, and a rotating roller 38 is provided at the lower end. A swing shaft 39 forming the swing center of the sheet raising lever 26 is rotatably supported by the side wall 13 at the longitudinal intermediate portion of the sheet raising lever 26. 5, the position of the sheet raising lever 26 indicated by the solid line is the initial position where the sheet stack 2A is separated, and the position indicated by the two-dot chain line is the operating position where the sheet stack 2A is abutted against the rotating roller 11.

[0022] A first drive motor M1 is fixedly disposed below the seat raising lever 26, and a slide receiving portion 40 is installed on one side of the first drive motor M1. A slider 41 that can slide over a predetermined range is disposed on the upper portion of the slide receiving portion 40, and a slide plate 42 bent into a substantially L-shape is fixed to the upper surface of the slider 41. A substantially L-shaped stopper 43 is fixed to the bottom surface 42a of the slide plate 42, and one end of a tension spring 44 made of, for example, a coil spring as an elastic member is fixed to the other side plate 42b. The other end of the tension spring 44 is connected to a fixed plate 46 fixed to the rotating roller 38.

[0023] In the seat raising lever 26, a portion between the rotating roller 38 and the swing shaft 39 is defined as the lever operating section 26a. A substantially arc-shaped angle detection member 47 having a long groove 47a formed therein is disposed in the lever operating section 26a of the seat raising lever 26. A position detection bolt 48 is inserted into the long groove 47a of the angle detection member 47 and fastened to the lever operating section 26a. With the position detection bolt 48 loosened, the distance between the angle detection member 47 and an angle detection sensor 50 (described later) can be adjusted. The swing angle of the seat raising lever 26 can be detected by the angle detection sensor 50 sensing the swinging angle detection member 47.

[0024] 5, when the first drive motor M1 is driven to slide the slider 41 and the slide plate 42 to the left, the biasing force of the tension spring 44 increases, pulling the rotating roller 38 and swinging the seat raising lever 26. The rotating roller 38 comes into contact with the stopper 43, thereby restricting its swing range. The biasing force of the tension spring 44 causes the rotating roller 38 of the seat raising lever 26 to come into contact with the stopper 43. When the stopper 43 slides together with the slider 41, the rotating roller 38 oscillates while maintaining contact with the stopper 43 due to the biasing force of the tension spring 44. By driving the first drive motor M1, the sheet raising lever 26 is oscillated clockwise from the initial position, and at the operating position, the pressing sheet 7 is brought close to the rotating roller 11, so that the sheet stack 2A can be brought into contact with the rotating roller 11.

[0025] In addition, when the thickness of the sheet stack 2A placed on the pressing sheet 7 hung on the sheet bar 25 is relatively large, the thickness of the stack 2A restricts the swinging of the sheet raising lever 26. Therefore, the stopper 43, which slides when the slider 41 moves to the maximum, separates from the rotating roller 38. When the thickness of the sheet stack 2A is relatively small, the swing range of the sheet raising lever 26 becomes wider, and the sheet raising lever 26 swings in conjunction with the sliding movement of the slider 41 and the slide plate 42. In this case, the rotating roller 38 moves along with the sliding movement of the stopper 43 while in contact with the stopper 43.

[0026] Also, an angle detection sensor 50 is provided for detecting the angle detection member 47 when the angle detection member 47 fixed to the lever operating portion 26a of the sheet raising lever 26 swings beyond a predetermined operating range. When the thickness of the sheet stack 2A is relatively large, the swing angle of the sheet raising lever 26 is limited to be smaller than the set operating range, and the angle detection sensor 50 cannot detect the angle detection member 47. When the thickness of the sheet stack 2A is relatively small, the sheet raising lever 26 is swung beyond a predetermined operating range by the biasing force of the tension spring 44 of the slider 41 that slides, and the angle detection sensor 50 can detect the angle detection member 47.

[0027] In this embodiment, it is possible to automatically determine whether or not to bend the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A with the wedge bar 33, depending on the thickness (number of sheets) of the sheet stack 2A. That is, the sheet raising lever 26 swings around the swing shaft 39 in response to the biasing force of the tension spring 44 displaced by the slider 41 which slides when the first drive motor M1 is driven. At that time, by detecting the angle detection member 47 swinging integrally with the lever operating part 26a with the angle detection sensor 50, the second drive motor M2 described later can be driven to bend the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A with the wedge bar 33 of the middle bending means 22. In addition, since the thickness of the sheet stack 2A increases when the number of sheets provided on the pressing sheet 7 is large, when bending the sheet stack 2A, the sheet raising lever 26 may come into contact with the rotating roller 11 before it has fully swung to a predetermined angle and been raised, causing the swinging to stop. In order to avoid interference between the sheet stack 2A and the rotating roller 11 in this case, the elastic force of the tension spring 44 is applied to adjust the movement range of the sheet raising lever 26.

[0028] Next, the drive mechanism of the link member 37 in the midway bending means 22 will be described with reference to FIGS. The lower end of the link member 37 that swingably supports the engaging hook 34 supports the other end of a swing arm 53 that can swing around a swing shaft 52 via a shaft portion 53a. The link member 37 and the swing arm 53 are provided on both sides of the payout device main body 6, respectively, and a rotatable swing shaft 52 is horizontally disposed between the pair of swing arms 53. The swing shaft 52 is supported on the floor surface at both ends by holding members 54. A slider unit 57 incorporating a second drive motor M2 for the midway bending means 22 is provided in the longitudinal center of the swing shaft 52.

[0029] A roughly U-shaped power lever 55 is fixed to the longitudinal center of the swing shaft 52. One side of a roughly L-shaped plate-shaped angle member 55a is fixed to the inner surface of the power lever 55 at the portion facing the second drive motor M2, and the roller 51 is fixed to the other side of the angle member 55a. A slider 58 made of a roughly L-shaped plate member that is vertically slidable is provided on the side of the slider unit 57. One end of a tension spring 59, which is an elastic member such as a coil spring, is secured to one side plate 58a of the slider 58. The top end of a bottom plate 58b of the slider 58 is bent horizontally to form a stopper portion 58c for the roller 51. A fixed plate 51a is fixed to the roller 51, which is fixed to the angle member 55a of the power lever 55, and the other end of the tension spring 59 is secured to this fixed plate 51a.

[0030] In Fig. 6, when the second drive motor M2 is driven to cause the slider 58 to slide downward along the side surface of the slider unit 57, the roller 51 is pulled downward by the biasing force of the tension spring 58, and the power lever 55 is swung counterclockwise about the swing shaft 52. In response to this, the swing arm 53 also swings in the same direction, and the link member 37 moves upward. As a result, the engagement hook 34 swings clockwise about the swing shaft 35 to a position where it abuts against the roller 29. Thereafter, while the sheet raising lever 26 swings counterclockwise in a direction to return the bending of the sheet stack 2A to its original position, the roller 29 is pushed by the engagement hook 34, and the wedge bar 33 of the wedge lever 30 can bend the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A. Since the oscillating lever 27 is supported by the sheet raising bar 25 of the sheet raising lever 26, when the thickness of the sheet stack 2A is greater than a predetermined value, as the oscillating angle of the sheet raising lever 26 becomes smaller, the oscillating lever 27 and the roller 29 move to a lower position compared to when the oscillating angle of the sheet raising lever 26 is large. Since the midway bending means 22 is provided with a tension spring 59 in its drive mechanism, the engaging hook 34 can be brought into contact with the roller 29 at a position according to the thickness of the sheet stack 2A, and the positions of the wedge lever 34 and the wedge bar 33 can be moved. Since the amount of midway bending varies depending on the position of the wedge bar 33, it is possible to increase or decrease the amount of midway bending of the sheet stack 2A by the wedge bar 33 depending on the amount of accumulation of the sheet stack 2A. Therefore, the midway portion of the sheet stack 2A is not forcibly bent to cause disorder in the sheets 2 of the sheet stack 2A, and one sheet 2 can be stably separated and fed out.

[0031] Next, the control unit 61 of the sheet feeding device 5 according to the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. When controlling the operation of the sheet pay-out device 5, if a single sheet 2 is paid out from the sheet stack 2A, bending the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A with the wedge bar 33 may result in the sheets becoming disorganized and multiple sheets 2 being paid out by mistake if there are a large number of sheets. In addition, multiple sheets 2 may be paid out due to friction or the like, depending on the direction of the fiber grain of the sheet 2, humidity, etc. In order to avoid such problems, it is possible to select whether or not to bend the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A, depending on whether the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A is large or small, for example.

[0032] In the sheet delivery device 5 according to this embodiment, a manual mode can be selected between a mode in which the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A is bent (for example, ON) and a mode in which the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A is not bent (OFF) depending on the number of stacked sheets in the sheet stack 2A, the direction of the grain of the sheets 2 interfering, humidity, etc. Also, when the automatic mode is selected, the amount of stacked sheets 2A is detected by the angle detection sensor 50, and one of the mode in which the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A is bent and the mode in which the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A is not bent can be automatically selected. A setting input means 62 is provided with a selection button for the manual mode and the automatic mode.

[0033] In the control unit 61 shown in Figure 7, signals are input to the control means 63 from the setting input means 62 and the angle detection sensor 50, and signals are output from the control means 63 to the sheet raising member driving means 64, the mid-bending driving means 65, the movable roller moving means 66, and the rotating roller rotating means 67. The setting input means 62 selects manual mode (ON or OFF) or automatic mode for whether or not to bend the middle part of the sheet stack 2A. The angle detection sensor 50 detects whether the swing angle is above or below the operating range by the angle detection member 47 when the sheet raising lever 26 swings. The sheet raising member driving means 64 drives the first driving motor M1 to swing the sheet raising lever 26 and tilt the sheet stack 2A toward the rotating roller 11. The midway bending drive means 65 drives the second drive motor M2 to operate the wedge bar 33 so as to bend the sheet stack 2A midway. The movable roller moving means 66 swings the movable roller 12 so as to abut against the rotating roller 11, sandwiching the first sheet 2 selected in conjunction with the ON of the sheet raising member drive means 64. The rotating roller rotating means 67 rotates the rotating roller 11 to pay out the sheet 2 sandwiched between the movable roller 12 and the rotating roller 11.

[0034] The sheet feeding device 5 in the packaging device 1 according to this embodiment has the above-mentioned configuration, and next, a method for feeding the sheet 2 will be described. In the control unit 61, an operator of the packaging device 1 selects an automatic mode in which it is automatically determined whether or not the sheet stack 2A needs to be bent midway using the setting input means 62. For example, as shown in Fig. 8(a), a sheet stack 2A consisting of a relatively small number of sheets 2 is placed on a sheet feed tray 8, and the leading end portion is curved upward and placed on a pressing sheet 7. By selecting the automatic mode, the control means 63 operates the sheet raising member driving means 64, which drives the first driving motor M1. Then, the slider 41 and the slide plate 42 in Fig. 5 move in a direction away from the rotating roller 38, and the tension spring 44 provided on the slide plate 42 stretches. The biasing force of the tension spring 44 pulls the rotating roller 38 in the direction of the tension spring 44. As a result, the sheet raising lever 26 swings clockwise around the swing shaft 39 from the initial position to the operating position.

[0035] At this time, if the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A placed on the pressing sheet 7 is large, the sheet stack 2A comes into contact with the rotating roller 11 early, the swing of the sheet raising lever 26 is restricted, and the swing range is small. However, if the sheet stack 2A is relatively small, the sheet raising lever 26 swings within a preset operating range. Fluctuations in the swing angle of the sheet raising bar 26 due to the thickness of the sheet stack 2A are absorbed by the tension spring 44. Moreover, the angle detection member 47 installed on the swinging lever operating part 26a reaches the angle detection sensor 50, and is detected by the angle detection sensor 50. The midway bending drive means 65 is driven by the control means 63 based on the signal detected by the angle detection sensor 50. By adjusting the position of the angle detection member 47 relative to the lever operating portion 26a and setting the distance from the angle detection sensor 50 in advance, it is possible to determine in advance the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A for which the angle detection sensor 50 detects the angle detection member 47, i.e., the thickness. This makes it possible to set the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A for determining whether or not the midway bending means 22 needs to be operated.

[0036] As shown in Fig. 8(b), when the sheet raising lever 26 swings clockwise by a predetermined angle, the sheet stack 2A placed on the pressing sheet 7 covering the sheet bar 25 of the sheet raising lever 26 comes into contact with the rotating roller 11 at the operating position. The leading end of the sheet stack 2A is bent toward the rotating roller 11, and the front sheet 2 comes into contact with the rotating roller 11. In this state, the front sheet 2 of the sheet stack 2A is partially adhered to the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c positioned on the tape receiving plates 19a, 19b, and 19c of the pay-out device main body 6. The adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c are adhered to the center of the leading edge of the first sheet 2 and both side ends thereof, and are held in that position.

[0037] Next, the second drive motor M2 is driven by the midway bending drive means 65. As shown in Fig. 6, the slider 58 moves downward along the side surface of the slider unit 57. Then, the tension spring 59 provided on the slider unit 57 expands, and the roller 51 is pulled by the biasing force of the tension spring 59, causing the power lever 55 to swing counterclockwise around the swing shaft 52. As the swing shaft 52 rotates, the swing arm 53 also swings integrally in the same direction, and the link member 37 moves upward (see Fig. 8(c)). As the link member 37 moves upward, the engaging hook 34 swings upward about the swing shaft 35 , and the engaging hook 34 moves to a position where it engages with the roller 29 .

[0038] Furthermore, when the first drive motor M1 is driven in the reverse direction, the slider 41 and the slide plate 42 move from the operating position to the initial position. Moreover, the stopper 43 provided on the slide plate 42 pushes the rotating roller 38, so that the sheet raising lever 26 swings counterclockwise and returns to the initial position. Therefore, in the sheet stack 2A on the pressing sheet 7, the sheet 2 on the surface that is attached to each of the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c remains in that position, and the other sheet stack 2A is separated and swings counterclockwise together with the pressing sheet 7. At this time, the roller 29 abuts against the engaging hook 34, and the swing lever 27 and the wedge lever 30 swing counterclockwise around the sheet bar 25. As a result, as shown in Fig. 8(d), the wedge bar 33 provided on the wedge lever 30 presses the middle part of the sheet stack 2A and bends it outward.

[0039] Thereafter, the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c are cut by a cutter (not shown). As shown in Fig. 8(e), the swing shaft 17 is driven by the movable roller moving means 66, and the movable roller 12 is swung downward by the arm portion 16 to sandwich the front sheet 2 between the movable roller 12 and the rotating roller 11. Next, the rotating roller 11 is rotated by the rotating roller rotating means 67, thereby sending out the front sheet 2 in the elevator direction. When the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A placed on the paper feed tray 8 and the pressure sheet 7 is relatively small, the wedge bar 33 presses and bends the middle part of the sheet stack 2A, so that the sheets 2 are not disturbed and one sheet 2 on the surface can be reliably separated and fed out.

[0040] Next, a case where the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A is relatively large in the automatic mode will be described mainly with reference to FIG. In this case, in Fig. 5 and Fig. 9(a), when the sheet stack 2A having a large number of sheets is placed on the sheet feed tray 8 and the pressing sheet 7, the sheet raising member driving means 64 is operated to drive the first driving motor M1. Then, the slider 41 and the slide plate 42 move in a direction away from the rotating roller 38, and the tension spring 44 provided on the slide plate 42 is stretched. The rotating roller 38 is pulled in the direction of the tension spring 44 by the biasing force of the tension spring 44, and the sheet raising lever 26 swings clockwise around the swing shaft 39 as shown in Fig. 9(b). Then, the tip of the thick sheet stack 2A provided on the pressing sheet 7 of the sheet raising lever 26 comes into contact with the rotating roller 11. As a result, the sheet 2 on the surface of the sheet stack 2A comes into contact with the rotating roller 11, and the leading edges of the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c positioned on the tape receiving plate portions 19a, 19b, and 19c of the pay-out device main body 6 are partially adhered.

[0041] When the number of sheets in the stack 2A placed on the pressing sheet 7 is large, the angle at which the sheet raise lever 26 swings to contact the rotating roller 11 becomes small, and the swing of the sheet raise lever 26 is restricted. As a result, the angle detection member 47 provided on the lever operating portion 26a does not reach the angle detection sensor 50, and the angle detection member 47 cannot be detected because the operating range is insufficient. The signal from the angle detection sensor 50 is not output to the control means 63, and the mid-bending drive means 65 is not operated. The narrow swing range of the sheet raise lever 26 is absorbed by the amount of extension of the tension spring 44, and the amount of movement of the slider 41 and the slide plate 42 by the first drive motor M1 is the same as when the number of sheets in the stack 2A is small.

[0042] Next, when the first drive motor M1 is driven in the reverse direction, the sheet raising lever 26 swings counterclockwise and returns to the initial position as shown in Fig. 9(c). The sheet stack 2A on the pressing sheet 7 is swung counterclockwise together with the pressing sheet 7, leaving behind the surface sheets 2 attached to the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c. Thereafter, the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, and 3c are cut by a cutter (not shown). As shown in Fig. 9(d), the movable roller 12 is swung by the arm portion 16 by the movable roller moving means 66 to sandwich the surface sheet 2 between the movable roller 12 and the rotating roller 11. Next, the rotating roller 11 is rotated by the rotating roller rotating means 67, so that the surface sheet 2 is sent out in the elevator direction.

[0043] In this way, when the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A placed on the sheet feed tray 8 and the pressing sheet 7 is large, the middle part of the sheet stack 2A is not pressed by the wedge bar 33. This makes it possible to prevent the sheet stack 2A from bending at its middle part, causing multiple sheets 2 on the front side to be stacked and separated, or multiple sheets 2 to be disarrayed. Therefore, even if the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A is large, each sheet 2 can be reliably separated and fed out.

[0044] In addition, when the manual mode is selected by the setting input means 62 and the setting input means 62 is turned on or off, the midway bending drive means 65 is activated or cut off. Depending on this selection, a mode in which the midway portion of the sheet stack 2A is bent by the wedge bar 33 or a mode in which the midway portion of the sheet stack 2A is not bent can be selected. In addition, when the manual mode is selected, a mode in which the middle portion of the sheet stack 2A is bent or not bent can be selected arbitrarily depending on the grain direction of the sheets 2, humidity, etc., regardless of the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A.

[0045] As described above, according to the sheet feeding device 5 of the packaging device 1 of this embodiment, the setting input means 62 can be used to select a mode in which the middle part of the sheet stack 2A is bent or not bent depending on the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A, or the direction of the fibers between the sheets 2, humidity, etc. Therefore, the sheets 2 can be reliably separated and fed one by one from the sheet stack 2A. In addition, even if the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A is large, the user can select either the manual mode or the automatic mode to select whether or not the sheet stack 2A needs to be bent midway by the wedge bar 33, so that the sheet 2 can be reliably fed out.

[0046] In particular, when the automatic mode is selected, the angle detection sensor 50, the angle detection member 47 of the sheet raising drive means 21, and the tension spring 44 can automatically determine whether or not the sheet stack 2A needs to be bent midway depending on the thickness of the sheet stack 2A, thereby enabling stable unwinding of the sheets 2. Furthermore, since the tension spring 59 is provided in the mid-bending means 22, when the sheet stack 2A is thick, the wedge bar 33 is bent at a position according to the thickness, so that the sheet stack 2A is not unreasonably bent mid-bending and the sheet stack 2A is not disturbed. Therefore, the sheets 2 can be separated and fed stably.

[0047] Although the sheet feeding device 5 of the packaging device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention has been described in detail above, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiment, and appropriate modifications and substitutions are possible without departing from the gist of the present invention, and all of these are included in the present invention. Modifications of the present invention will be described below, but the same reference numerals will be used to designate the same or similar parts and members as those of the above-described embodiment, and descriptions thereof will be omitted.

[0048] According to the sheet feeding device 5 of the packaging device 1 in the embodiment described above, the sheet stack 2A is swung to a position where it abuts against the rotating roller 11 by the operation of the sheet raising lever 26 and the pressing sheet 7. At this time, the surface sheet 2 is adhered with adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c so as to be separable from the rest of the sheet stack 2A, but it may be adhered with an adsorption means for sucking air instead of the adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c. The adhesive tapes 3a, 3b, 3c and the adsorption means are included in the sheet holding member.

[0049] The seat raising lever 26 is included in the seat raising member. The tension spring 44 in the seat raising drive means 21 is included in the first elastic member, and the tension spring 59 in the mid-bending means 22 is included in the second elastic member. In the embodiment, the angle detection sensor 50 detects the angle detection member 47 provided on the lever operating portion 26a in the sheet raising drive means 21 with respect to the operating range in which the sheet raising lever 26 swings. However, the angle detection member 47 may not be provided, and the swinging sheet raising lever 26 may be directly detected by the angle detection sensor 50. In this case, it is preferable to make the installation position of the angle detection sensor 50 movable and adjustable, and set the distance from the sheet raising lever 26 before movement to determine whether or not the midway bending means 22 needs to be operated according to the number of sheets in the sheet stack 2A. The angle detection sensor 50 is included in the sensor. Furthermore, in this embodiment, a signal is output when the angle detection sensor 50 is turned ON, but a signal may be output when the angle detection member 47 is turned OFF depending on the position or shape of the angle detection member 47, and used to determine whether or not operation is required. In the above embodiment, the sheet feeding device 5 of the packaging device 1 has been described. However, instead, the present invention may be applied to a sheet feeding device that feeds other appropriate sheets other than those for packaging. [Explanation of symbols]

[0050] 1 Packaging equipment 2 seats 2A Sheet stack 3a, 3b, 3c adhesive tape 7 Pressing sheet 8 Paper feed tray 10. Means of transportation 11 Rotating roller 12 Movable roller 21 Seat raising drive means 22 Midway bending means 26 Seat raising lever 27 Swing lever 28 Working shaft 29 Laura 30 Wedge Lever 33 Wedge Bar 34 Engagement hook 35 Swing Axis 37 Link member 38 Rotating Roller 39 Swing Axis 40 Slide receiving part 41 Slider 44, 59 Tension spring 47 Angle detection member 50 Angle detection sensor 53 Swing Arm 53a Shaft 58 Slider 62 Setting input means 63 Control Means 64 Seat raising member driving means 65 Mid-bend drive means M1 First drive motor M2 Second drive motor

Claims

1. a sheet feeder that holds a sheet stack in which sheets are stacked; a sheet raising member for bending a leading end of the sheet stack held in the sheet feeding section; a sheet holding member for holding one sheet of the sheet stack bent by the sheet raising member; a midway bending means for bending a midway portion of the sheet stack to separate the remaining sheet stack from the one sheet; a conveying means for feeding out the single sheet held by the sheet holding member; A control means for selecting whether or not to operate the midway bending means; a sheet raising driving means for driving the sheet raising member to a position where the leading end of the sheet stack is bent; a sensor for detecting whether the movement of the sheet raising member is equal to or greater than a preset operating range, When the sensor detects that the movement of the sheet raising member is greater than or equal to the operating range and the thickness of the stack of sheets is determined to be less than a predetermined value, the midway bending means is operated; A sheet dispensing device characterized in that when the sensor does not detect that the movement of the sheet raising member is greater than or equal to the operating range and the thickness of the sheet stack is determined to be greater than or equal to the predetermined value, the mid-bending means is not operated.

2. The midway bending means comprises a swinging member supported by the seat raising member, a pressing member supported by the swinging member, and an engaging hook disposed between the swinging member and the seat raising member, The engaging hook is operable and controlled by the control means, and is movable toward and away from an engaging position with the swinging member, 2. The sheet dispensing device of claim 1, wherein when the movement of the sheet raising member is greater than or equal to the operating range, the engaging hook is moved to an engaging position with the oscillating member, and when the sheet raising member returns to its initial position before movement in this state, the oscillating member engages with the engaging hook and oscillates, and the pressing member presses against a middle portion of the sheet stack to bend it.

3. 3. The sheet delivery device according to claim 1, further comprising a setting input means for instructing said control means to select at least one of a manual mode in which said midway bending means is operated manually and an automatic mode in which said midway bending means is automatically operated.

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