Sheet Aligner With Left-Right Skew Transport for Width Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing banknote processing systems fail to effectively align sheets, such as banknotes, in a direction orthogonal to the transport direction, leading to inefficiencies in storage and handling.
Innovation Solution
An aligner comprising a transport path with a linear-motion transport unit, a left-skew transport unit, and a right-skew transport unit, which generate drive forces in specific oblique directions to align sheets selectively leftward or rightward, controlled by a control unit that adjusts the alignment based on recognition of sheet positions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If only linear-motion transport units are used to transport sheets, then the transport path is simple and device complexity is low, but sheet alignment in the width direction cannot be achieved
Solution Approach 1:
The transport system is divided into three independent transport units: a linear-motion transport unit for forward movement, a left-skew transport unit for leftward alignment, and a right-skew transport unit for rightward alignment. Each unit operates independently to achieve precise sheet positioning in both transport and width directions.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces skew-direction transport capabilities (left and right oblique directions) in addition to the standard linear transport direction. This adds width-direction control to the originally one-dimensional transport system, enabling two-dimensional sheet positioning.
2Reliability
If sheets are transported without width alignment, then handling is simple and processing speed is high, but storage gaps increase and collapse risk increases
Solution Approach 1:
The aligner performs width alignment of sheets before they are stacked for storage. By pre-aligning sheets in the width direction using the skew transport units, the system ensures proper stacking arrangement in advance, preventing gaps and collapse during storage without requiring additional processing steps later.
3Manufacturing precision
If skew transport units are added to enable width alignment, then sheet alignment precision improves, but device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
Each skew transport unit (left and right) is designed to perform multiple functions: transporting sheets in the oblique direction, aligning sheets in the width direction, and contributing to overall sheet positioning. This multi-functionality reduces the need for separate alignment mechanisms, offsetting the complexity increase.
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an aligner capable of aligning a sheet during transport in a direction orthogonal to a transport direction. The aligner includes: a transport path; a linear-motion transport unit that generates a drive force in a transport direction along the transport path to a sheet on the transport path; a left-skew transport unit that is disposed in a left direction with respect to the transport direction of the linear-motion transport unit and generates a drive force in a left-oblique direction inclined in the left direction to the sheet on the transport path; and a right-skew transport unit that is disposed in a right direction with respect to the transport direction of the linear-motion transport unit and generates a drive force in a right-oblique direction inclined in the right direction to the sheet on the transport path.