Hitachi, Ltd.

Yasunori Hamada

Taichiro Yamashita

Kazushi Yoshida

Junichi Tamamoto

Tadashi Osaka

Masataka Kawauchi

Toshihiko Tajiri

Takao Terayama

Masao Okayama

Shigeru Sasaki

Junichi Oizumi

Haruo Yamanaka

Itsunori Utsumi

Kousuke Noda

Nobuyoshi Sasaki

Yutaka Kako

Toshio Akatsu

Yoshio Fukudome

Tetsuo Saito

Tsugio Udagawa

Naoya Sasaki

Masuo Furutono

Noriaki Hagiwara

Toru Hayama

Kunio Ushijima

Yoshiharu Takahashi

Hideo Iwakami

An apparatus for sorting and distributing sheet-like items, such as postal matter. A feeder successively feeds the sheet-like items to a stacker which is positioned above the feeder and on which the sheet-like items are stacked in an upright position. Both the feeder and the stacker have a bottom surface. The bottom surface of the stacker is normally positioned at a first distance above the bottom surface of the feeder. A bottom surface opening mechanism is able to open the bottom surface of the stacker to permit sheet-like items stacked in the stacker to be transferred to the feeder. A bottom surface moving mechanism is able to move the bottom surface of the feeder unit and the bottom surface of the stacker unit toward each other so as to position the stacker bottom surface at a second distance above the feeder bottom surface, with the second distance being less than the first distance, and is able to return the bottom surfaces to a position in which they are spaced by the first distance.

Apparatus for sorting sheets or the like

A small-size apparatus for sorting sheets or the like can form a delivery route by repeating sorting operation and prevent an overflow of sheets or the like. To this end, auxiliary sorting compartments are provided in an accumulator in the sorting operation for the first time, and when an overflow occurs, the allocated sorting compartments are shifted each by one compartment to the side of the auxiliary sorting compartment. In the first-time sorting operation, destination codes and thicknesses are stored in memory, and by the destination codes and thicknesses stored, overflow is predicted, a plurality of sorting compartments are allocated. By this arrangement, the sheets or the like can be prevented from overflowing, so that those sheets or the like which are rejected need not be manually added afterwards, and the efficiency of the sorting work can be improved.

Method and apparatus for sorting paper sheets in a predetermined

Paper sheet matter sorting apparatus and paper sheet matter sorting

Apparatus for sorting and distributing sheet-like items, such as postal matter. A feeder successively feeds the sheet-like items with the front surfaces of all the items facing in the same direction. A stacker is positioned above the feeder for stacking the sheet-like items in an upright position. As the sheet-like items are conveyed from the feeder to the stacker, a selector activates either a first reader or a second reader to read address codes applied to the front surfaces or the back surfaces of the sheet-like items. The selector selects the one of the first reader and the second reader to be activated based on which of the front surfaces and the back surfaces of the sheet like items have address codes thereon.

A hopper for feeding documents also serves as a stacker for stacking therein documents in a generally upright position. When the fed documents or the once-stacked documents are to be fed to a singulation mechanism, the hopper or stacker is put into a feeding mode, and when the documents are to be stacked or sorted, the hopper or stacker is switched to a stacking mode. Such hoppers or stackers are arranged in a plurality of stages, and when each sorting is to be effected, addresses are read while changing the mode of each hopper or stacker to repeat the sorting, so that the documents are sequenced by a radix sort method.

A small-size apparatus for sorting sheets or the like can form a delivery route by repeating sorting operation and prevent an overflow of sheets or the like. To this end, auxiliary sorting compartments are provided in accumulating means in the sorting operation for the first time, and when an overflow occurs, the allocated sorting compartments are shifted each by one compartment to the side of the auxiliary sorting compartment. In the first-time sorting operation, destination codes 15 and thicknesses are stored in memory, and by the destination codes and thicknesses stored, overflow is predicted, a plurality of sorting compartments are allocated. By this arrangement, the sheets or the like can be prevented from overflowing, so that those sheets or the like which are rejected need not be manually added afterwards, and the efficiency of the sorting work can be improved.

Method and apparatus for sorting sheets in a predetermined sequential

The present invention provides a sorter system wherein sorters that can perform sorting operations such as destination and delivery sorting operations and sequencing operations such as a carrier route sequencing operation for sheets with sorting information attached thereto as required can be configured. Transfer devices are coupled to sorting information readers means for reading sorting information from sheets transferred by transfer devices. A plurality of sorters for loading the sheets therein according to the sorting information read by the sorting information readers are coupled to the transfer devices in such a way that any number of sorters can be added or removed from said sorters as required. This invention can provide a sorter system capable of expanding sorting and sequencing functions, and also reduce costs and a required installation space.

Sorter system having a plurality of sorters connected to one another

Apparatus for sorting sheets or the like, in which mail distributed to a number of collection sections can be easily recycled to a feeder for sorting the mail in accordance with the delivery order. Stackers, in which mail is sorted in accordance with address codes, are provided on an upper portion of the feeder. By pulling out a bottom plate of the stackers, the mail in the stackers falls down into the feeder. The mail distributed once can be recycled to the feeder in a short period of time, thereby reducing the time for carrier route sequencing of the mail. The mail is conveyed in a path extending both above and below the feeder and the stackers, thereby reducing the area required for the apparatus.

A smal-size apparatus for sorting sheets or the like can form a delivery route by repeating sorting operation and prevent an overflow of sheets or the like. To this end, auxiliary sorting compartments are provided in an accumulator means in the sorting operation for the first time, and when an overflow occurs, the allocated sorting compartments are shifted each by one compartment to the side of the auxiliary sorting compartment. In the first-time sorting operation, destination codes and thicknesses are stored in memory, and by the destination codes and thicknesses stored, overflow is predicted, a plurality of sorting compartments are allocated. By this arrangement, the sheets or the like can be prevented from overflowing, so that those sheets or the like which are rejected need not be manually added afterwards, and the efficiency of the sorting work can be improved.

An apparatus for sorting sheet-like items, in which the items, which are to be sorted to plural collecting sections, can be easily recycled to a feeder for sorting the items in multiple sorts in accordance with a desired sorting order or sequence. A stacker is provided on an upper portion of feeder. By pulling out a bottom plate of the stacker, the once sorted items in the stacker are caused to fall down into the feeder. The items can thus be rapidly recycled to the feeder for another sort, thereby reducing the time required for complete sorting or sequencing of the mail.

A stereoscopic image processing system is disclosed, in which there are provided a first conveyance passage including conveying rollers for conveying a medium having a nature that the volume thereof expands when heated, a stereoscopic image output device including a heating head and a roller for pressing the medium against the heating head so as to heat the medium thereby to form a stereoscopic image, and an information processing control section for processing information of respective parts of the processing system and controlling operation thereof.

Stereoscopic image processing system

When sheets are taken into a machine or discharged from the machine, characteristics of these sheets such as letters or symbols of these sheets are read by a sheet characteristics reading unit. A result of reading the characteristics is stored in a storage unit. When characteristics of a sheet are not able to be read at the time of accommodating sheets, this sheet is returned and only sheets of which characteristics have been able to be read are taken into the machine. Sheets of which characteristics are not able to be read at the time of discharging sheets are specified by a unit for specifying sheets of which characteristics can not be read. By this arrangement, each sheet in the machine is always managed.

Management apparatus and automated teller machine

An automatic transaction apparatus for dealing with cash or the like operates by being accessed by the user through the use of a user specific transaction medium card, which is inserted to the apparatus so that information recorded on it is read. In the event of some trouble of the apparatus, if the card cannot be ejected and returned to the user, a receipt slip of the card with information specific to the user being printed thereon is issued to the user in response to the ejection failure signal.

Method and apparatus for automatic transaction having card receipt

A bank note handling apparatus of a circulating type utilizes bank notes deposited by customers as payable bank notes. The following devices are provided in the form of a loop in a conveying passage downstream from a paying-in and paying-out device for use in depositing or withdrawing bank notes by customers: bank note stacking devices for stacking circulated bank notes; a first discriminating device for discriminating bank notes; a bank note receiving device for receiving bank notes that are not to be circulated; a second discriminating device for discriminating bank notes; a device for properly arranging the obverse and reverse sides of bank notes; and a temporary receiving device for temporarily receiving bank notes to be deposited or withdrawn. Hence, the conveying passages for the paying-in and paying-out device and the respective stacking devices are shortened, reducing the processing time.

Growing community of inventors

Tsuchiura, Japan

Yasunori Hamada