Ballot Checking Machine

Abstract

To improve the efficiency of a manual inspection operation in a series of ballot counting operations, without incurring excessive costs, and in particular, by taking into account the possibility of making the ballots susceptible to viruses and other contaminants.SOLUTION: A ballot paper inspection machine includes an inspection mode in which conveyed ballot paper is paused at a predetermined visual check location on a conveyance path to enable an operator to visually inspect the ballot paper.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a ballot checker. [Background technology]

[0002] Conventionally, at ballot counting stations for national and local elections, the ballot counting process is usually carried out as shown in Figure 3. In the ballot counting process, there has been little progress in mechanizing the "alignment," "sorting," and "inspection" processes carried out on the ballot counting tables, and these are still carried out manually.

[0003] In the vote counting process, first, the ballot papers are taken out from the ballot boxes collected from each polling station onto the ballot counting table, and a "mixing" process is carried out to mix them up, but after the "mixing" process, the ballot papers are in a mixed state with their front and back sides and top and bottom orientations. Next, there is the "sorting" process to align the front and back sides and top and bottom orientations, which can be done automatically by machine or manually. When the above-mentioned machines are used, they automatically distinguish the front and back of the ballots and the top and bottom directions, and also align them, and the "sorting" process of sorting them by candidate name (party name) is also carried out automatically, but the machines are expensive and have not been introduced to ballot counting stations, so most of the work is done by hand. Furthermore, the "inspection" process, which checks to see if votes for other candidates have been mixed in after sorting the ballots by candidate name (party name), has also not been mechanized much and is still done by hand.

[0004] As a machine to be used during the vote counting process, for example, a ballot counting and sorting device that efficiently sorts and counts ballots has been proposed (Patent Document 1). This ballot counting and sorting device reads the ballots and identifies the names of candidates, etc. from the image data obtained by reading them through character recognition. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0005] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 10-198762 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0006] As mentioned above, when it comes to the counting of ballots, there has been little mechanization of tasks such as "alignment," "sorting," and "inspection" carried out on the ballot counting table, and these tasks are currently carried out manually. (1) The manual sorting process involved sorting and aligning the ballots one by one, by rearranging them in the same direction, front to back and top to bottom, which was time-consuming and inefficient. (2) In the manual "inspection" work, it was necessary to turn over each ballot paper by hand, and because it was necessary to check both sides of the ballot paper, handling the paper took time. In addition, because all ballot papers must be turned over by hand one by one during the "inspection" work, the possibility of infection with viruses increases, and gloves are being introduced as a countermeasure, but this further reduces work efficiency.

[0007] The first object of the present invention is to improve the efficiency of the manual "inspection" work in the series of ballot counting operations, without incurring excessive costs, particularly taking into consideration the possibility of infection with viruses, etc., and the second object is to provide an inexpensive and simple machine that can be used for elections, etc., which not only improves the efficiency of the "inspection" work, but also improves the efficiency of the manual "sorting" work that is a pre-processing step. Note that in this invention, the "sorting" work of sorting by candidate name (party name) after the "sorting" work is not covered by the invention because the components for reading and identifying the candidate names (party names) are expensive, and it is assumed that this will be done manually. [Means for solving the problem]

[0008] In order to achieve the above object, the ballot paper inspection machine according to claim 1 of the present invention comprises: a loading section configured to be able to load a plurality of ballot papers in a stacked manner; a paper feed section that feeds the ballot papers one by one from the loading section toward a transport path; a transport section that transports the ballot papers fed from the paper feed section along the transport path; a discharge section that discharges the ballot papers from the transport path to a plurality of stackers; a gate section that distributes the ballot papers discharged from the discharge section to one of the plurality of stackers; a manual input section that can be input by an operator; and a control means that executes an inspection mode that temporarily stops the transported ballot papers at a predetermined visual inspection position on the transport path to enable inspection by visual inspection by an operator. In the inspection mode, the control means ejects the ballot paper into one stacker selected from the plurality of stackers based on the input of visual inspection results into the manual input unit.

[0009] The invention described in claim 2 is characterized in that, in the ballot inspection machine described in claim 1, a front / back reversing section is provided on the transport path for reversing the front / back of the ballot after visual inspection at the visual inspection position and transporting it again to the visual inspection position.

[0010] The invention described in claim 3 is the ballot inspection machine described in claim 2, wherein the front / back inversion section is connected to the ballot transport path via a switching guide section, and the ballot after visual confirmation at the visual confirmation position is transported in the reverse direction toward the paper feed section, thereby inverting the front / back in a curved position and transporting it again to the visual confirmation position. The switching guide unit is characterized in that when the ballot paper is transported from the paper feed unit toward the transport path, the ballot paper is not introduced into the curved inversion path, but is discharged directly to a visual confirmation position on the transport path, and when the ballot paper is transported in the reverse direction from the visual confirmation position toward the paper feed unit, the ballot paper is introduced into the curved inversion path and then discharged to a visual confirmation position on the transport path.

[0011] The invention described in claim 4 is , request The ballot inspection machine described in claim 3 is characterized in that the path length of the curved inversion path is configured to be shorter than the length of the ballot in the transport direction.

[0012] The invention described in claim 5 is a ballot inspection machine described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that the ballot inspection machine further has, in addition to an inspection mode by visually checking the ballots, an alignment mode in which the front and back directions of the ballots are aligned and sorted into the multiple stackers, and the inspection mode and the alignment mode can be selectively set by a mode switching means.

[0013] The invention described in claim 6 is the ballot paper inspection machine described in claim 5, further comprising a determination means for determining whether the orientation of the ballot paper fed from the loading unit is front-to-back or top-to-bottom, and in the alignment mode, the control means determines the front-to-back orientation of the ballot paper fed from the loading unit based on the determination result of the determination means. To turn over the ballot paper after visual confirmation at the visual confirmation position and transport it again to the visual confirmation position The system is characterized in that the ballot papers are aligned in one direction or the other using a front / back inversion section, and after the front and back of the ballot papers are aligned, they are sorted according to their top / bottom orientation and discharged into multiple stackers.

[0014] The invention described in claim 7 is the ballot paper inspection machine described in claim 6, wherein the determination means includes an optical sensor that detects the printing state of the surface of the ballot paper, and Optical sensor The present invention is characterized in that it includes a control means for determining whether the orientation of the ballot paper is front-to-back or top-to-bottom based on the identified information.

[0015] The invention described in claim 8 is the ballot inspection machine described in claim 7, wherein the optical sensor detects characters on the surface of the ballot, or Note Number A plurality of such devices are arranged on the conveying path in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction so as to be readable and identifiable.

[0016] The invention described in claim 9 is characterized in that, in the ballot inspection machine described in claim 8, the optical system sensor is a photosensor. Effect of the Invention

[0017] According to the invention described in claim 1, an inspection mode is executed in which the ballot papers transported one by one from the loading section are temporarily stopped at a predetermined visual inspection position on the transport path to enable inspection by an operator through visual inspection, and in the inspection mode, the ballot papers are discharged into one stacker selected from a plurality of stackers based on the input of the visual inspection results into the manual input section, so that there is no need to manually turn the ballot papers one by one during inspection, reducing the possibility of infection by viruses, etc., and improving work efficiency.

[0018] According to the invention described in claim 2, a front / back reversing section is provided on the transport path to reverse the ballot paper after visual inspection at the visual inspection position and transport it again to the visual inspection position. Therefore, when checking both sides of the ballot paper, there is no need to manually turn over each ballot paper one by one during inspection, which reduces the possibility of infection with viruses, etc. and improves work efficiency.

[0019] According to the invention described in claim 3, the front / back reversing section is connected to the ballot paper transport path via a switching guide section, and is equipped with a curved reversing path that transports the ballot paper after visual confirmation at the visual confirmation position in the reverse direction toward the paper feed section, thereby reversing the ballot paper in a curved position and transporting it again to the visual confirmation position, thereby making it easy to check both sides of the ballot paper without increasing the size of the machine.

[0020] According to the invention described in claim 4, the path length of the curved inversion path is configured to be shorter than the length of the ballot paper in the transport direction, so that the ballot paper is not completely hidden even in the front / back inversion section, which provides peace of mind in terms of security.

[0021] According to the invention described in claim 5, the ballot inspection machine, in addition to the inspection mode by visually checking the ballots, further has an alignment mode in which the front and back orientation of the ballots are aligned and sorted into the multiple stackers, and the inspection mode and alignment mode can be selectively set by a mode switching means. Therefore, a single ballot inspection machine can be used not only for the "inspection" work but also for the "alignment" work as a pre-processing step, thereby further improving work efficiency.

[0022] According to the invention described in claim 6, a judgment means is provided for judging whether the orientation of the ballot papers fed from the loading section is front-to-back or top-to-bottom, and in the alignment mode, based on the judgment result of the judgment means, the front-to-back orientation of the ballot papers fed from the loading section is aligned to one of two orientations by the front-to-back inversion section, and after the front-to-back orientation of the ballot papers is aligned, they are sorted into multiple stackers according to their top-to-bottom orientation and discharged.This makes it possible to easily classify and align the front-to-back and top-to-bottom orientation of the ballot papers, improving work efficiency and further reducing the time required for vote counting.

[0023] According to the invention described in claim 7, the determination means uses an optical sensor to detect the printing condition on the surface of the ballot paper, and can determine whether the ballot paper is front or back, or upside down, with a simple and inexpensive configuration.

[0024] According to the invention described in claim 8, multiple optical sensors are arranged on the transport path perpendicular to the transport direction in order to read and identify letters, symbols, etc. on the surface of the ballot paper, so that despite the simple configuration, the front and back and top and bottom orientation of the ballot paper can be reliably identified.

[0025] According to the ninth aspect of the present invention, the optical system sensor uses a photosensor, so that the optical system sensor can be constructed simply and inexpensively. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0026] [Figure 1] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a ballot checker in an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the ballot checker of FIG. [Diagram 3]A diagram showing the flow of the ballot counting process. [Figure 4] A diagram showing the process of checking ballot papers in inspection mode. [Diagram 5] 1 is a diagram showing an alignment mode transition; [Figure 6] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a specific operation of the front-back reversing unit. [Figure 7] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a specific operation of the front-back reversing unit. [Figure 8] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating a specific operation of the front-back reversing unit. [Figure 9] 11A and 11B are diagrams illustrating the operation of a gate unit in a discharge unit. [Figure 10] 13A to 13C are diagrams illustrating the operation of a switching guide section in the front / back reversing section. [Figure 11] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 12] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 13] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an embodiment of the present invention. [Figure 14] 4 is a flowchart illustrating the operation of an embodiment of the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0027] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

[0028] FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing the appearance of the ballot paper inspection machine 1 of this embodiment. The ballot paper inspection machine 1 includes a paper feed unit 10 that feeds the ballot papers P placed on the paper feed tray 11 one by one toward the transport path 28 in the ballot paper P placement unit 16, a transport unit 20 that transports the ballot papers P fed from the paper feed unit 10 along the transport path 28, and a discharge unit 30 that discharges the ballot papers P from the transport path 28 to multiple stackers 31 and 32. The ballot paper inspection machine 1 further includes an operation panel unit 50 as a manual input unit that accepts operations by an operator, and the operation panel unit 50 has three operation switches, a paper feed SW 52, a reject SW 54, and a mode switching SW 56, and a liquid crystal panel 58. The ballot paper inspection machine 1 further includes a non-volatile storage means that stores a program for controlling the entire machine, and a control means (not shown) that has a CPU that executes the program. The manual input unit is not limited to the operation panel unit 50 of the ballot paper inspection machine 1 main body, and may be a mouse operation connected to a remote control or a PC.

[0029] 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a schematic configuration inside the ballot paper inspection machine 1. The ballot paper inspection machine 1 of this embodiment mainly comprises a placement section 16 for the ballot paper P, a paper feed section 10, a transport section 20, a discharge section 30, and a front / back reversing section 40.

[0030] [Placement portion 16] 2, the placement unit 16 is provided with a pair of guide plates 12, 12 that place multiple ballot papers P in a stack on the paper feed tray 11 and regulate both sides of the placed ballot papers P. The presence or absence of the ballot papers P on the paper feed tray 11 is detected by a paper presence sensor 27.

[0031] [Paper feed section 10] The paper feed section 10 places the ballot papers P on a paper feed stand 11 that is movable in the vertical direction, and by lifting the paper feed stand 11 using a spring or the like, the tip of the topmost ballot paper P placed on the stand is pressed against the paper feed roller 13, and the ballot papers P are fed one by one to the conveying section 20 between the paper feed roller 13 and a separating member 15 provided below it to prevent double feeding.

[0032] [Transport section 20] The transport unit 20 transports the ballot paper P fed from the paper feed unit 10 along a transport path 28 toward the discharge unit 30 by means of transport roller pairs 21, 22. Along the transport path 28, there are arranged a leading edge detection sensor 26 that detects the leading edge of the transported ballot paper P, and ten identification sensors 25 that are aligned perpendicular to the paper transport direction F and detect the printing status of the front side of the ballot paper P. The number of identification sensors 25 is not limited to ten, and any number may be arranged.

[0033] [Discharge section 30] The discharge section 30 includes a gate section 24, and distributes and discharges the ballot papers P transported by the transport section 20 to one of the selected stackers 31, 32. Discharge sensors 33, 34 detect that the ballot papers P have been discharged to each stacker.

[0034] [Front / back reversing section 40] The front / back reversing unit 40 is connected to the transport path 28 of the ballot paper P via a switching guide unit 43, and is provided with a curved reversing path 44 that reverses the front / back of the ballot paper P on the transport path 28 and transports it back onto the transport path 28. The specific operation of the front / back reversing unit 40 will be described later. Note that the front / back reversing unit 40 is not limited to a configuration using the curved reversing path 44, and may be configured to use a switchback type reversing device.

[0035] [Functions of Ballot Checking Machine 1] Next, two functions of the ballot inspection machine 1 will be explained with reference to Figures 4 and 5. The two functions are: one is an "inspection mode" which temporarily stops the transported ballots at a designated visual inspection position 41 on the transport path to allow the operator to visually inspect them; and the other is an "alignment mode" which aligns the front and back of the ballots and sorts them into the multiple stackers.

[0036] (1) Inspection mode Inspection mode involves manually sorting the ballots by candidate name (party name) and then sorting them by other candidates. This mode is used for the "inspection" process to check whether the votes of the alternates are mixed up. In Figure 4, multiple ballot papers P (P1) stacked on the placement section 16 of the ballot paper inspection machine 1 are fed one by one by the paper feed section 10 toward the transport section 20, stopped at a visual inspection position 41 (P2) where the contents written on the ballot paper P can be easily confirmed, and after the operator visually checks, the ballot paper P is manually discharged into the stackers 31, 32 of the discharge section 30. Note that both sides of the ballot paper P can be inspected by the front / back reversal section 40. As a result of the above, manual turning over work is reduced, and the possibility of virus infection from touching all the ballots with hands is reduced, while the deterioration of work efficiency caused by wearing gloves is improved.

[0037] (2) Alignment Mode The alignment mode is a mode used for the "alignment" operation of aligning the front and back and top and bottom directions of the ballot papers P, which are in a mixed state after the "confusion" operation, in one direction. A determination means determines whether the orientation of the ballot paper P fed from the loading section 16 of the ballot paper inspection machine 1 is front-to-back or top-to-bottom, and based on the determination result of the determination means, the front-to-back orientation of the ballot paper P fed from the loading section 16 is aligned to one of the two by the front-to-back inversion section 40, and after the front and back of the ballot paper have been aligned, they are sorted into multiple stackers according to their top-to-bottom orientation and discharged.

[0038] FIG. 5 is a schematic diagram showing the transition of the alignment mode, in which a square frame indicates a ballot paper P, the number "A" in the frame indicates the printing direction (top-bottom direction) depending on its orientation, and the solid line indicates the front side and the dashed line indicates the back side. FIG. 5(a) shows a state in which the front and back sides and top-bottom directions of the ballot paper P are mixed in the placement unit 16 of the ballot paper inspection machine 1. Next, FIG. 5(b) shows a state in which the ballot paper P is sorted into multiple stackers according to the top-bottom direction and discharged in the alignment mode. Next, FIG. 5(c) shows a state in which the ballot paper P sorted into the multiple stackers and discharged is manually put together. According to the above, since the ballot paper is aligned in the same direction, the time required for the subsequent manual "sorting" work is greatly reduced. In addition, since the ballot paper is fed and sorted one by one, it is also possible to provide a means for detecting abnormal paper such as a stub.

[0039] [Specific operation of each function] Next, the specific operation of each function will be described. (1) Inspection mode The inspection mode has two modes, "one-sided inspection" and "double-sided inspection," each of which further has "manual" and "automatic" modes. In Fig. 1, the operation panel unit 50 has a paper feed SW 52, a reject SW 54, and a mode change SW 56. The paper feed SW 52 is a SW for starting the feeding of the ballot paper P from the placement unit 16, and discharging the ballot paper P to the first stacker 31 if the result of visual confirmation by the operator at the visual confirmation position 41 is "correct" (matches the target candidate). The reject SW 54 is a SW for discharging the item to the second stacker 32 when the visual confirmation result is "incorrect" (does not match the target candidate). The mode switching SW 56 is a SW for switching between the inspection mode, the alignment mode, and various other operation modes.

[0040] The inspection mode can be used not only for the above-mentioned match / mismatch inspection task, but also for sorting, for example, when visual inspection reveals that there are two candidates, into candidate A and candidate B.

[0041] (1-1) One-sided inspection mode 6 to 9 are enlarged views of the main part of FIG. 2. FIG. 6(a) shows a state in which the paper feed SW 52 is pressed, the paper feed roller 13 rotates, the ballot paper P is sent from the loading section 16, and the ballot paper P is handed over to the conveying roller pair 21. At this time, the leading end of the ballot paper P passes over the claw 431 in the switching guide section 43, and the leading end of the ballot paper P is detected by the leading end detection sensor 26. The presence or absence of the ballot paper P in the loading section 16 may be detected by the paper presence / absence sensor 27 on the paper feed tray 11 as in this embodiment, or the paper presence / absence sensor 27 may not be disposed, and the ballot paper P may be determined to be absent if the leading end detection sensor 26 cannot detect the leading end of the paper even after moving the paper feed roller 13 by a predetermined amount. The ballot papers P in the loading section 16 are stacked in the same direction with the writing surface facing up.

[0042] The switching guide unit 43 serves as a movable gate that switches the transport direction of the ballot paper P between the transport path 28 and the curved inversion path 44. As shown in FIG. 10(a), the switching guide unit 43 is installed downstream of the paper feed roller 13 and has a claw 431 that rotates around a rotating shaft 434, and the tip of the claw 431 is constantly given a force to pull it upward by a spring 433. In addition, the claw 431 has a lever 435 that is integrally formed with the claw 431, and as shown in FIG. 10(b), when the ballot paper P passes through the transport roller pair 21, the tip of the ballot paper P abuts against the tip of the lever 435, and then the ballot paper P is transported while pushing the lever 435 and the claw 431 downward against the pulling force of the spring 433. After the ballot paper P has passed, the claw 431 returns to the position shown in Figure 10(a), and when the ballot paper P is inverted, as described below, the ballot paper P can be introduced into the opening 432 of the switching guide section 43 by transporting it in the reverse direction.

[0043] 6(b), the leading edge of the ballot paper P is further transported on the transport path 28, reaches the pair of transport rollers 22, and stops temporarily at the visual confirmation position 41. At the visual confirmation position 41, the operator checks the contents of the ballot paper P to check whether they match the target candidate.

[0044] If the visual confirmation at the visual confirmation position 41 results in a “match,” the operator presses the paper feed SW52 to resume the transport of the ballot paper P that was stopped at the visual confirmation position 41, and the gate section 24 switches to a position to guide the ballot paper P to the first stacker 31, as shown in Figure 9 (a), and the visually confirmed ballot paper P is discharged into the first stacker 31. If the results are "mismatched", the operator can press the reject switch 54 to resume transport of the ballot paper P that had stopped at the visual confirmation position 41, and the gate unit 24 switches to a position that guides the ballot paper P to the second stacker 32, as shown in Figure 9(b), and the visually confirmed ballot paper P is discharged into the second stacker 32. The gate unit 24 rotates around the axis 231 of the discharge roller 23b, and the two switching positions are electrically controlled by a solenoid (not shown).

[0045] The "manual" mode in the single-sided inspection mode has been described above. Next, the "automatic" mode in the single-sided inspection mode will be described.

[0046] In the actual inspection work at the ballot counting station, the above-mentioned mismatched ballots are rarely found, and the visual confirmation speed and manual work are very fast. In such a situation, it is troublesome to press the feed SW 52 or the reject SW 54 for each ballot, so an "automatic" mode is provided as a mode for automatically transporting ballots one after another. In detail, in the "automatic" mode, once the feed SW 52 is pressed, the cycle of feeding one ballot paper → transporting to the visual confirmation position 41 → stopping for a predetermined time → discharging to the first stacker 31 continues until the ballot paper P on the placement unit 16 runs out. The predetermined time is the time (about 1 to 3 seconds) that the operator takes to inspect the ballot paper P, and if a "mismatch" is found during this time, the operator presses the reject SW 54, which discharges the target ballot paper P to the second stacker 32, and the next ballot paper P is automatically fed. The predetermined time (the time for inspection) can be set to any time.

[0047] (1-2) Double-sided inspection mode In the double-sided inspection mode, the flow is the same as in the single-sided inspection mode described above, where the feed switch 52 is pressed, the ballot paper P is sent out from the mounting unit 16, stops at the visual confirmation position 41, and the operator visually confirms whether one side of the ballot paper P matches the target candidate. Next, when the operator presses the feed switch 52 again after the inspection of one side is completed, the ballot paper P is transported slightly downstream from the visual confirmation position 41 until the opening 432 of the switching guide unit 43 is exposed, as shown in Figure 7(c). Note that in the double-sided inspection mode, the ballot paper P may be loaded on the mounting unit 16 with either the front or back side.

[0048] Next, as shown in FIG. 7(d), the ballot paper P is transported in the reverse direction F' (the transport roller pair 22 is rotating in the R2 direction), and the ballot paper P is introduced into the opening 432 of the switching guide section 43. At this time, the transport roller 21b rotates in the R1 direction as a reversing roller, and as shown in Figure 8 (e), the ballot paper P is reversed within the curved reversing path 44 and discharged from above the claw portion 431 of the switching guide unit 43 toward the transport path 28. The switching guide unit 43 is configured so that when the ballot paper P is transported from the paper feed unit 10 toward the transport path 28, it is not introduced into the curved reversing path 44 but is discharged directly to the visual confirmation position 41 on the transport path 28, and when the ballot paper P is transported in the opposite direction from the visual confirmation position 41 toward the paper feed unit 10, it is introduced into the curved reversing path 44 and then discharged to the visual confirmation position on the transport path 28.

[0049] Then, as shown in Figure 8 (f), the ballot paper P is transported in the transport direction F and stopped again at visual inspection position 41 on the transport path 28, and the operator visually inspects the back side of the ballot paper P whose front side has been inspected.

[0050] If the result of visual confirmation at visual confirmation position 41 is a "match" (as in single-sided inspection mode), the operator presses feed SW 52 to resume the transport of the ballot paper P that was stopped at visual confirmation position 41, and gate unit 24 switches to a position to guide the ballot paper P to first stacker 31, as shown in Figure 9(a), and the visually confirmed ballot paper P is discharged to first stacker 31. If the result is a "mismatch", the operator presses reject SW 54 to resume the transport of the ballot paper P that was stopped at visual confirmation position 41, and gate unit 24 switches to a position to guide the ballot paper P to second stacker 32, as shown in Figure 9(b), and the visually confirmed ballot paper P is discharged to second stacker 32.

[0051] As described above, since the front / back inversion unit 40 is provided on the transport path 28, when checking the front and back "both sides" of the ballot paper P, there is no need to manually turn over the ballot paper P one by one during inspection, which reduces the possibility of infection with viruses and improves work efficiency. In addition, since the curved inversion path 44 is provided, which inverts the ballot paper P after visual confirmation at the visual confirmation position 41 in a curved position and transports it again to the visual confirmation position 41, it is possible to easily check the front and back "both sides" of the ballot paper without increasing the size of the machine. Furthermore, since the path length of the curved inversion path 44 is configured to be shorter than the length of the ballot paper P in the transport direction, the ballot paper P is not completely hidden even in the front / back inversion unit 40, which is reassuring in terms of security.

[0052] The above-mentioned double-sided inspection mode has been explained in terms of the "manual" mode, but the "automatic mode" in the double-sided inspection mode is basically the same as the automatic mode in the single-sided inspection mode, and after a specified time has elapsed on the front side, the ballot paper P whose front side has been confirmed is automatically flipped over, and the back side is also automatically ejected after a specific time has elapsed.

[0053] (2) Alignment Mode The alignment mode is a function that aligns the front and back of ballot papers P, which are mixed in terms of front and back, and separates them into the "top and bottom" directions and discharges them to the stackers 31 and 32. It is a function independent of the inspection mode and does not involve the operator's judgment. Once started, the processing operation is performed until all the ballot papers P loaded on the loading section 16 are exhausted. The front and back and top and bottom directions are judged by, for example, 10 optical identification sensors 25 such as reflective photosensors shown in FIG. 1 arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction F, and detecting the printing state of the ballot paper surface from below. In detail, when the identification sensor 25 does not detect anything on the front side of the ballot paper P being conveyed (always detecting the white level), it is judged to have detected the back side (the front side is visible to the operator), and when it detects a considerable range of the black level (printed part), the control means as a judgment means next judges the top and bottom directions of the ballot papers P from the distribution state. The distribution state may also be judged by the average density of the black level.

[0054] Next, a specific operation of the alignment mode will be described. When the paper feed switch 52 is pressed, the paper feed roller 13 starts to rotate, and one ballot paper P is transported from the loading section 16. Then, as shown in FIG. 6(a), the leading edge of the paper is detected by the leading edge detection sensor 26, and the transport distance is controlled thereafter with this position as the reference position. The presence or absence of the ballot paper P on the loading section 16 may be detected by the paper presence / absence sensor 27 on the paper feed tray 11, as in this embodiment, or it may be determined that there is no paper without installing the presence / absence sensor 27, in the case where the leading edge detection sensor 26 cannot detect the leading edge of the paper even after moving the paper feed roller 13 a predetermined amount.

[0055] Next, as shown in Figure 6(b), the paper is fed a predetermined amount from the reference position. At this time, the ballot paper P is conveyed while being identified by the identification sensor 25 for its printing condition.

[0056] (2-1) As a result of identifying the printing state of the ballot paper P, if a significant area of ​​the black level (printed portion) is detected on the sensor detection surface of the ballot paper P and it is determined that the sensor detection surface is the front (written surface), then the top-bottom orientation of the ballot paper P is determined from the distribution state. Then, if the top-bottom orientation of the ballot paper P is determined to be, for example, the "top" orientation, the ballot paper P is ejected to the first stacker 31 and the next paper is subsequently fed. If the top-bottom orientation is determined to be the "bottom" orientation, the ballot paper P is ejected to the second stacker 32 and the next paper is subsequently fed. Note that when the top-bottom orientation of the ballot paper P is determined to be ejected into each stacker 31, 32 as a result of determining the top-bottom orientation, the ejection destination is allocated by the gate unit 24 as described above.

[0057] (2-2) As a result of detecting the printing state of the front side of the ballot paper P, if a white level (non-printed portion) is detected over a considerable range on the sensor detection surface of the ballot paper P and it is determined that the sensor detection surface is the back side (non-written side), the ballot paper P is inverted in the curved inversion path 44 and discharged from above the claw portion 431 of the switching guide unit 43 toward the conveying path 28 by a predetermined amount, as in the double-sided inspection mode described using Figures 7(c), 7(d), and 8(e). At this time, the ballot paper P is conveyed while identifying the printing state of the ballot paper P with the identification sensor 25. As a result, the sensor detection surface of the ballot paper P is inverted to the same front side (written side) as in (2-1) above, and thereafter, the same control is performed, and the ballot paper P is discharged to each of the stackers 31 and 32 according to the top-bottom orientation.

[0058] According to the above, the ballot inspection machine 1 has, in addition to the inspection mode by visually checking the ballots P, an alignment mode in which the front and back directions of the ballots P are aligned and sorted into multiple stackers (31, 32), and the inspection mode and alignment mode can be selectively set by a mode switching SW serving as a mode switching means. Therefore, a single ballot inspection machine can be used not only for the "inspection" work but also for the "alignment" work as a pre-processing step, thereby further improving work efficiency. In addition, a control means is provided as a judgment means for determining whether the orientation of the ballot papers fed from the loading section is front-to-back or top-to-bottom, and in the alignment mode, based on the judgment result of the judgment means, the front-to-back orientation of the ballot papers P fed from the loading section 16 is aligned to one of the two orientations by the front-to-back inversion section 40, and after the front and back of the ballot papers P have been aligned, they are sorted and discharged into multiple stackers (31, 32) according to their top-to-bottom orientation.This means that the front and back and top-to-bottom orientation of the ballot papers P can be easily sorted and aligned, improving work efficiency and further reducing the time required for vote counting.

[0059] In addition, the determination means uses an optical sensor as an identification sensor 25 that detects the printing condition on the surface of the ballot paper P, and can determine whether the ballot paper P is front or back, or upside down, with a simple and inexpensive configuration.

[0060] Furthermore, since the optical sensors are arranged in multiple units on the transport path 28 in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction in order to read and identify characters, symbols, etc. on the surface of the ballot paper P, they can reliably identify the front and back and the top and bottom of the ballot paper despite their simple configuration. Furthermore, since the optical sensors use photosensors, they can be constructed simply and inexpensively. Instead of multiple optical sensors arranged in a row, a single CCD sensor may be used.

[0061] [Overall control of ballot checking machine 1] The above is an outline of the operation of the present invention, which will now be described with reference to the flowcharts shown in FIGS.

[0062] (Main routine; mode control) Fig. 11 shows a main routine for controlling the inspection mode and alignment mode (mode control). Fig. 12 (Fig. 13) shows a subroutine in the mode control (inspection mode processing). Fig. 14 shows a subroutine in the mode control (alignment mode processing).

[0063] 11, it is confirmed whether the paper feed SW 52 is ON or not. If it is determined that the paper feed SW 52 is not ON (step 1; N), the process waits for the paper feed SW 52 to be turned ON.

[0064] If it is determined that the paper feed SW 52 is ON (step 1; Y), it is checked in step 2 whether the inspection mode is set. If it is set (step 2; Y), the process proceeds to the subroutine (inspection mode process) in Fig. 12 (step 3). The inspection mode and the alignment mode are selectively set by the mode switch SW 56 as a mode switching means.

[0065] If the inspection mode is not set (step 2; N), then in step 4, it is confirmed whether or not the alignment mode is set.

[0066] If the alignment mode is set (step 4; Y), the process proceeds to the subroutine (alignment mode process) in Fig. 14 (step 5). After the process of the subroutine in step 5, the process returns to the start of the main routine (step 1).

[0067] If the alignment mode has not been set (step 4; N), the process returns to the beginning of the main routine (step 1).

[0068] (Subroutine; Inspection mode processing) Next, a case where the subroutine (inspection mode processing) of Fig. 12 (Fig. 13) is selected will be described. Note that this subroutine describes the processing of the double-sided inspection mode.

[0069] In step 10, feed roller 13 starts to rotate, and one ballot paper P is fed from placement unit 16. In step 11, conveying roller pair 21, 22 also start to rotate, and conveys ballot paper P onto conveying path 28.

[0070] Next, in step 12, it is confirmed whether the transported ballot paper P has reached the visual confirmation position 41 on the transport path 28. If it is determined that the ballot paper P has not reached the visual confirmation position 41 (step 12; N), the ballot paper P is waited for to reach the visual confirmation position 41.

[0071] If it is determined that the ballot paper P has reached the visual confirmation position 41 (step 12; Y), then in step 13, the transport of the ballot paper P is stopped at the visual confirmation position 41.

[0072] Next, in step 14, the operator checks the contents of the ballot paper P at the visual confirmation position 41 to confirm whether or not it matches the target candidate.

[0073] In step 15, if there is no match with the target candidate (step 15; N), The operator turns on the reject switch 54 (step 17).

[0074] Next, in step 18, the ballot paper P is discharged into the second stacker 32, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

[0075] In step 15, if the person matches the target candidate (step 15; Y), the operator turns on the paper feed switch 52 (step 16).

[0076] Next, in step 19 of FIG. 13, the ballot paper P is inverted by the front / back inversion unit 40 described above.

[0077] Next, in step 20, it is confirmed whether the transported ballot paper P has reached the visual confirmation position 41 on the transport path 28. If it is determined that the ballot paper P has not reached the visual confirmation position 41 (step 20; N), the ballot paper P is waited for to reach the visual confirmation position 41.

[0078] If it is determined that the ballot paper P has reached the visual confirmation position 41 (step 20; Y), then in step 21, the transport of the ballot paper P is stopped at the visual confirmation position 41.

[0079] Next, in step 22, the operator checks the contents of the ballot paper P at the visual confirmation position 41 to confirm whether or not it matches the target candidate.

[0080] In step 23, if there is no match with the target candidate (step 23; N), The operator turns on the reject switch 54 (step 26).

[0081] Next, in step 27, the ballot paper P is discharged into the second stacker 32, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

[0082] In step 23, if the person matches the target candidate (step 23; Y), the operator turns on the paper feed switch 52 (step 24).

[0083] Next, in step 25, the ballot paper P is discharged into the first stacker 31, and the process returns to the main routine of FIG.

[0084] (Subroutine; Alignment mode processing) Next, a case where the subroutine (alignment mode process) in FIG. 14 is selected will be described.

[0085] In step 30, the feed roller 13 starts to rotate, and one ballot paper P is fed from the placement unit 16. In step 31, the transport roller pair 21, 22 also starts to rotate, and the ballot paper P is transported a predetermined distance along the transport path 28. At this time, the ballot paper P is transported while being identified by the identification sensor 25 as to the printing condition on the front side of the ballot paper P.

[0086] In step 32, if the printing condition of the ballot paper P is identified and a significant area of ​​the black level (printed area) is detected on the sensor detection surface of the ballot paper P, and it is determined that the sensor detection surface is the front surface (writing surface) (step 32; Y), processing proceeds to step 33.

[0087] If, in step 32, it is determined that the sensor detection surface is the back surface (non-written surface) (step 32; N), in step 35, the ballot paper P is inverted by the above-mentioned front / back inversion unit 40, while the identification sensor 25 identifies the printing condition (top / bottom direction) of the front surface of the ballot paper P, and then processing proceeds to step 33.

[0088] Next, in step 33, the top-bottom orientation of the ballot paper P is determined from the distribution state of the black level (printed portion).

[0089] In step 33, if it is determined that the orientation is "top" (step 33; Y), the ballot paper P is discharged to the first stacker 31 (step 34).

[0090] In step 33, if it is determined that the ballot is not facing up (step 33; N), the ballot paper P is discharged to the second stacker 32 (step 36).

[0091] Next, in step 37, it is confirmed whether or not there are any ballot papers P stacked on the placement unit 16. The presence or absence of ballot papers P on the placement unit 16 can be detected by the paper presence / absence sensor 27.

[0092] In step 37, if it is determined that the ballot papers P stacked on the placement unit 16 have not run out (step 37; N), the process returns to step 30.

[0093] In step 37, if it is determined that there are no more ballot papers P stacked on the placement unit 16 (step 37; Y), the process returns to the main routine of FIG. 11 (RET).

[0094] The embodiment described above has been explained assuming that the ballot inspection machine has two modes, an inspection mode and an alignment mode, but it may also be implemented as an independent machine having each mode.

[0095] Also, in the inspection mode and the alignment mode, the ballot papers P may be discharged to the first stacker 31 and the second stacker 32. Furthermore, three or more stackers may be provided to increase the number of categories.

[0096] It is clear that the present invention is not limited to the present embodiment, and that the present embodiment can be appropriately modified within the scope of the technical concept of the present invention in addition to the modifications suggested in the present embodiment. Furthermore, the number, position, shape, etc. of the components are not limited to the present embodiment, and the number, position, shape, etc. of the components can be any number, position, shape, etc. suitable for implementing the present invention. [Explanation of symbols]

[0097] F Conveying direction P Ballot paper 1. Ballot Checking Machine 10 Paper feed section 11 Paper feed stand 13 Paper feed roller 16 Placement section 20 Conveyor section 21 Transport roller pair 22 Transport roller pair 23 Discharge roller 24 Gate Section 25 Identification sensor 26 Tip detection sensor 27 Paper presence sensor 28 Transport Route 30 Discharge section 31 First Stacker 32 Second stacker 40 Front and back reversing section 41 Visual inspection position 43 Switching guide section 44 Curved Reversal Path 50 Operation panel section 52 Paper feed switch 54 Reject SW 56 Mode Switch 58 Liquid crystal panel

Claims

1. a loading section configured to load a plurality of ballot papers in a stack; a paper feed section that feeds the ballot papers one by one from the loading section toward a transport path; a transport section that transports the ballot papers fed from the paper feed section along the transport path; a discharge section that discharges the ballot papers from the transport path to a plurality of stackers; a gate section that distributes the ballot papers discharged from the discharge section to one of the plurality of stackers; a manual input section that can be input by an operator; and a control means that executes an inspection mode that temporarily stops the transported ballot papers at a predetermined visual inspection position on the transport path to enable inspection by an operator through visual inspection. A ballot inspection machine characterized in that in the inspection mode, the control means discharges the ballot into one stacker selected from the multiple stackers based on the input of visual inspection results into the manual input unit.

2. The ballot inspection machine of claim 1, further comprising a front / back inversion unit on the transport path for inverting the ballot after visual inspection at the visual inspection position and transporting it again to the visual inspection position.

3. The front / back inversion unit is connected to the transport path of the ballot paper via a switching guide unit, A curved inversion path is provided in which the ballot paper after visual confirmation at the visual confirmation position is transported in the reverse direction toward the paper feed section, and then the ballot paper is inverted in a curved position and transported again to the visual confirmation position; The ballot inspection machine of claim 2, characterized in that when the ballot paper is transported from the paper feed unit toward the transport path, the ballot paper is not introduced into the curved inversion path, but is discharged directly to a visual confirmation position on the transport path, and when the ballot paper is transported in the reverse direction from the visual confirmation position toward the paper feed unit, the ballot paper is introduced into the curved inversion path and then discharged to a visual confirmation position on the transport path.

4. The ballot inspection machine according to claim 3, characterized in that the path length of the curved inversion path is configured to be shorter than the length of the ballot in the transport direction.

5. A ballot inspection machine as described in any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that, in addition to an inspection mode in which the ballots are visually inspected, the ballot inspection machine further has an alignment mode in which the front and back directions of the ballots are aligned and sorted into the multiple stackers, and the inspection mode and the alignment mode can be selectively set by a mode switching means.

6. 6. The ballot inspection machine of claim 5, further comprising a determination means for determining whether the orientation of the ballot papers fed from the placement unit is front-to-back or top-to-bottom, and in the alignment mode, the control means, based on the determination result of the determination means, inverts the front-to-back orientation of the ballot papers fed from the placement unit after visual inspection at the visual confirmation position, and aligns them to one side or the other using a front-to-back inversion unit for transporting them again to the visual confirmation position, and after aligning the front-to-back orientation of the ballot papers, sorts them into multiple stackers according to their top-to-bottom orientation and discharges them.

7. The ballot inspection machine according to claim 6, characterized in that the determination means includes an optical sensor that detects the printing condition on the surface of the ballot, and a control means that determines whether the orientation of the ballot is front-to-back or top-to-bottom based on the information identified by the optical sensor.

8. The ballot inspection machine according to claim 7, characterized in that the optical sensor is arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction on the conveying path to read and identify characters or symbols on the surface of the ballot.

9. The ballot checker of claim 8, wherein the optical sensor is a photosensor.

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