JP4779347B2 - Shredding equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a shredding device for shredding paper to be discarded, and more particularly to a shredding device provided with a storage unit capable of storing shredded fragments.

  In recent years, as the information society has advanced to a high degree, various image forming apparatuses have become widespread, and the inadvertent diffusion of confidential documents has become a problem. In addition, as opportunities for handling confidential documents increase, awareness of the risk of information leakage has increased. From this background, when discarding a confidential document, it is generally performed to shred the confidential document with a shredder to prevent information leakage and protect privacy.

  Here, in the shredder generally used in the past, for example, a paper inlet into which paper sheets to be processed are input is formed on the upper surface of the shredder body, and a cutter roller is provided inside the paper inlet. Exists. And in the lower part of the main body, an accommodating part for accommodating fine fragments cut by the cutter roller is provided. As a prior art described in the publication, there is one in which a photoelectric sensor having a light emitting part and a light receiving part is arranged toward the accommodating part in order to detect the full paper of the fine pieces accommodated in the accommodating part. In order to prevent paper dust in the apparatus from adhering to the photoelectric sensor, a technique has been proposed in which an antistatic portion is provided on the light emitting surface of the photoelectric sensor light emitting portion and the light receiving surface of the light receiving portion (for example, (See Patent Document 1).

JP 2002-85994 A

  As described above, it has been conventionally performed to detect a full sheet by arranging a sensor in the housing portion of the shredder. And as shown to the said patent document 1, the technique which eliminates adhesion of the shredded waste with respect to a light emission surface and a light-receiving surface, and prevents a malfunction is also proposed. However, when a photoelectric sensor as described in Patent Document 1 is used, it is possible to detect ON / OFF corresponding to the full paper state, but the amount of fine fragments at other points in time can be detected. I can't catch change. A similar problem remains even when a configuration in which the height is detected by a touch sensor is employed. Moreover, in the general photoelectric sensor, the sensitivity fall by paper dust is large, and regular cleaning and parts replacement | exchange will be needed. At this time, it is also effective to provide an antistatic member as in the above-mentioned Patent Document 1, but the cost of parts increases significantly, and it cannot be said that it is a preferable technique for meeting the demand for cost reduction of the apparatus.

  Furthermore, for example, a method of detecting by a change in the weight of a piece of paper or the pressure of a motor is possible. However, the content to be detected in the storage unit is a full state to eliminate the fine fragments overflowing from the storage unit, and it is possible to accurately grasp this full state when measuring by measuring changes in weight, pressure of the motor, etc. Can not. In other words, since the state of the fine fragments varies greatly depending on the type of paper to be shredded, the relationship between weight and volume cannot be grasped unambiguously. It is difficult to accurately capture the fullness of

The present invention has been made in order to solve the technical problems as described above, and the object of the present invention is to provide the height of the fine pieces (for example, from the bottom) accommodated in the accommodating portion of the shredding device. It is to recognize the distance of the upper surface.
Another object is to make it possible to recognize the near full state one step before the fullness of the fine fragments accommodated in the accommodating portion of the shredding processing device.
Still another object is to provide a technique for detecting fine fragments in which the influence of paper dust is reduced.

  For this purpose, the present invention is a shredding device for shredding paper, a housing part for housing chips of shredded paper, and a housing part disposed above the housing part. A sensor for transmitting and receiving a signal toward the bottom of the chip, and a control unit for recognizing a stacking height in a plurality of stacked states of chips stored in the storage unit using a detection result of the sensor. . Thereby, for example, it is possible to recognize the loading height at an arbitrary time.

Here, the sensor is an ultrasonic sensor, and includes a transmission side sensor that transmits a signal and a reception side sensor that receives the signal, and further includes a partition unit that partitions the transmission side sensor and the reception side sensor. Can be characterized.
In addition, if the partitioning means includes an enclosing member that surrounds the transmitting side sensor and / or the receiving side sensor in a state of being opened in the direction of the bottom of the housing portion, the signal (especially the received signal) can be stabilized. It is preferable at the point which can be made.
In addition, this enclosing member is provided in each of the transmission side sensor and the reception side sensor, and is excellent in that detection according to the characteristics of transmission and reception is possible if the size is different. .
Further, the control unit can recognize that the loaded state of the chip is a near full state, which is a state before the containing unit is full, using a detection result by the sensor.
Still further, the control unit is characterized in that a transmission and reception cycle by the sensor is performed a plurality of times in one polling cycle, and one loading height is recognized using a detection result in the plurality of cycles. As a result, the measurement accuracy can be improved.
Further, the transmission interval in the plurality of cycles can be characterized in that it is a time required for the reflected wave of the transmitted signal to be attenuated and / or absorbed.

  On the other hand, the present invention is a shredding device for shredding paper, a housing part for housing chips of the shredded paper, and a sensor for recognizing a stacking state of chips housed in the housing part Using the recognition result of this sensor, it is determined whether the chip is considered to be fully accommodated in the accommodating part, or whether the chip is almost full but not full. And a controller for separately outputting.

Here, the sensor is arranged above the housing portion, and is capable of recognizing the chip stacking height by transmitting a signal toward the bottom portion of the housing portion and receiving the signal. be able to.
Further, this sensor can be characterized in that paper dust attached to the sensor itself is screened out by vibration.

  From another point of view, the present invention is a shredding device for shredding paper, and is disposed above the housing part for housing a chip of the shredded paper, An ultrasonic sensor that transmits and receives an ultrasonic signal toward the bottom of the housing unit, and a control for recognizing the stacking height of the chip housed in the housing unit using the detection result of the ultrasonic sensor Part. By using this ultrasonic sensor, for example, it is possible to measure the loading height at an arbitrary time.

  Further, if the present invention is grasped from the category of the method, the present invention is a shredding processing method for grasping the stacking state of the chips that are shredded by the shredding processing device and accommodated in the accommodating portion, Recognizing that the chip accommodated in the accommodating portion is in a near-full state, which is almost full of the accommodating portion, using a sensor provided in the shredding device, and using this sensor A step of recognizing that the chip accommodated in the accommodating portion is in a full state in which the accommodating portion is considered to be full, and a step of distinguishing and outputting the recognized near full state and full state.

  Further, the shredding method to which the present invention is applied uses an ultrasonic sensor provided inside the shredding device, and the reflected wave of the signal transmitted from this ultrasonic sensor is attenuated and / or Alternatively, a step of performing a plurality of measurements with a time interval necessary to be absorbed, and a step of recognizing the loading state of the chips accommodated in the accommodating unit using the results of the plurality of measurements. Including.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to satisfactorily detect, for example, the stacking height in a plurality of stacked states of the fine pieces accommodated in the accommodating portion of the shredding device, and to recognize the full state of the fine pieces with high accuracy. Become.

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an appearance of a shredding device according to the present embodiment. The shredding processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 is provided with an upper surface part 1 constituting the upper part of the apparatus, and used paper to be discarded (which may be simply referred to as “paper”). And an input unit 11 to be input. In addition, the shredding device performs processing (such as shredding processing) of the used paper that has been input into the input unit 11 of the upper surface portion 1 and temporarily stores processed waste paper (hereinafter also referred to as a fine fragment or chip) inside. A main body 2 for housing is provided. Further, the upper surface portion 1 of the shredding processing device is provided with an operation display unit 5 for accepting an instruction from the user with respect to a used paper processing operation and the like and displaying notification items to the user regarding the used paper processing. Further, the shredding device is provided in the open / close door 25 that can be opened and closed when the chip accommodated in the main body 2 is discharged to the outside of the device, and is accommodated in the main body 2. A window 25a through which the amount of chips can be visually recognized, and a caster 26 for enabling the main body 2 to move. A member 25b that transmits light is fitted in the window 25a.

  FIG. 2 is a configuration diagram for explaining an internal mechanism of the shredding device shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 2, the main body portion 2 of the shredding device includes a crushing unit 3 that crushes (chops) the used waste paper into chips, and the chips formed by the crushing unit 3 become a lump. And a compression unit 4 for compression. In addition, the main body 2 of the shredding device has a duct 21 as a transfer unit for transferring the lump of chips formed by the compression unit 4 and a recovery as a storage unit for storing the lump of chips transferred by the duct 21. And a box 22. In addition, as a chip storage means, a bag-shaped one can be used instead of the collection box 22. In the main body 2 of the shredding device, a fan 23 for forcibly forming an air flow inside the device, a control unit 6 for controlling the operation of each unit such as the crushing unit 3 and the compression unit 4, A main power switch (main switch) 24 is provided for the user to turn on / off the power supply from the outside. In addition, power supply from the outside is performed through a breaker 24a with an inlet.

  The crushing unit 3 includes a first rotating blade 31A that includes a first rotating shaft 31A and a second rotating shaft 31B that are substantially parallel to each other, and includes a plurality of rotating blades 33A attached to the first rotating shaft 31A. 32A and a second rotary blade row 32B composed of a plurality of rotary blades 33B attached to the second rotary shaft 31B. In addition, a pressing member 34 is provided between the adjacent rotary blades 33A in the first rotary blade row 32A, and presses the used paper against the first rotary blade row 32A. Furthermore, it has the crushing motor 36 as a drive source of the 1st rotary blade row 32A and the 2nd rotary blade row 32B. Each of the rotary blades 33A and 33B is formed of, for example, a circular plate-like member, and a plurality of blades extending outward are formed on the peripheral surface thereof.

  Each of the rotary blades 33A and 33B constituting the first rotary blade row 32A and the second rotary blade row 32B is in the axial direction (perpendicular to the paper surface) of the first rotary shaft 31A and the second rotary shaft 31B. It is arrange | positioned at predetermined intervals along. The mutual positional relationship between the first rotary blade row 32A and the second rotary blade row 32B is such that the rotary blade of one rotary blade row is positioned between the adjacent rotary blades of the other rotary blade row. Is configured to do. That is, the rotary blade 33A of the first rotary blade row 32A and the rotary blade 33B of the second rotary blade row 32B are arranged so as to be staggered with respect to the axial directions of the first rotary shaft 31A and the second rotary shaft 31B. Has been. The mutual positional relationship between the first rotary blade row 32A and the second rotary blade row 32B is such that the rotary blades of one rotary blade row enter between adjacent rotary blades of the other rotary blade row. It has become. The meshing portion 35 that is an overlapping region is formed by the rotating blades 33A and 33B that are alternately arranged and arranged in such a manner.

The crushing motor 36 is controlled by the control unit 6. The driving force generated by the crushing motor 36 is transmitted to the first rotating shaft 31A and the second rotating shaft 31B via a drive transmission system (for example, a driving belt) (not shown). When the driving force is transmitted to the first rotary shaft 31A and the second rotary shaft 31B, the first rotary blade row 32A and the second rotary blade row 32B rotate.
Here, in the present embodiment, the rotation direction of the first rotary blade row 32A and the rotation direction of the second rotary blade row 32B are configured to be opposite to each other. That is, one rotary blade row rotates clockwise and the other rotary blade row rotates counterclockwise. Specifically, during normal operation (during forward rotation), as indicated by the arrow in FIG. 2, the first rotary blade row 32A rotates clockwise, and the second rotary blade row 32B rotates counterclockwise. Rotate. Thereby, the meshing side 35a of the meshing portion 35 is positioned below the position of the rotation shafts 31A and 31B, and the counter meshing side 35b of the meshing portion 35 is positioned above the positions of the rotation shafts 31A and 31B. Further, the crushing motor 36 can be reversed in the forward and reverse directions, and can rotate the first rotary blade row 32A and the second rotary blade row 32B in the direction opposite to the arrow direction in FIG. is there. In that case, the meshing side 35a and the non-meshing side 35b of the meshing portion 35 are in opposite positions. Further, the rotation speed (circumferential speed) of the first rotary blade row 32A and the rotation speed of the second rotary blade row 32B are different from each other. That is, the first rotating blade row 32A located on the used paper input side rotates slowly (low speed), and the second rotating blade row 32B located on the side opposite to the used paper input side rotates fast (high speed). As the speed difference, for example, a double value can be adopted.

A compression unit 4 is provided below the crushing unit 3. The compression unit 4 includes a hopper 41 that receives chips falling from the crushing unit 3, a cylindrical member 42 to which chips received by the hopper 41 are continuously supplied, and a cylindrical member 42 that is rotatable. The screw 43 arranged and a compression motor 44 as a drive source of the screw 43 are provided.
The screw 43 is configured by attaching a helical screw piece 43b to the rotating shaft 43a so as to extend along the axial direction of the rotating shaft 43a supported in the cylindrical member 42. That is, the screw 43 moves in one direction to move (push out) the chips continuously supplied from the hopper 41 into the cylindrical member 42. The lower end portion 42b of the cylindrical member 42 has a diaphragm shape with an aperture diameter narrower than that of the upper end portion 42a. With this drawing shape, the chip can be compressed at the lower end portion 42b into a lump of chips.

The compression motor 44 is controlled by the control unit 6. The driving force generated by the compression motor 44 is transmitted to the screw 43 through a drive transmission system (not shown). The screw 43 rotates in a direction to push the chip downward.
Here, the range in the circumferential direction of the screw piece 43b is set to be 360 degrees or less around the rotation shaft 43a so that the tip can smoothly advance in the cylindrical member 42 by the pressing force of the screw 43. Further, in order to prevent a co-rotation phenomenon in which the lump of the chip rotates in the same manner as the screw 43 rotates and does not move forward, a plurality of small protrusions (not shown) extending in the length direction are formed on the inner surface of the cylindrical member 42. The part is formed over the entire circumference.

Subsequent to the compression unit 4, a duct 21 and a recovery box 22 are provided in the main body 2 of the shredding device. The duct 21 is connected to the downstream end 42 c of the cylindrical member 42 of the compression unit 4. In the present embodiment, a special drive source for transferring the lump of chips in the duct 21 is not provided, and the lump of chips in the duct 21 uses the pressing force of the screw 43 of the compression unit 4. Then transferred.
The collection box 22 is arranged to receive a lump of chips that have been transported through the duct 21 and discharged from the duct 21. The collection box 22 can be removed from the main body 2 by opening the opening / closing door 25.

  Various sensors (detection units) are attached to the main body 2 of the shredding device. For example, in the main body 2 of the shredding device, a paper sensor (paper sensor) 90 that detects that waste paper has been input into the input unit 11 and chips that have fallen from the crushing unit 3 are contained in the hopper 41 of the compression unit 4. A hopper full detection sensor 92 for detecting that the battery is full is attached. Further, in the main body 2 of the shredding processing device, a recovery box set sensor 94 for detecting that the recovery box 22 is set inside the main body 2 and the chip in the recovery box 22 are in a position near full. A near full sensor 96 that detects that the door has reached and a door sensor (door interlock switch) 98 that detects that the door 25 is closed and locked are attached. The detection results of these various sensors 90, 92, 94, 96, 98 are output to the control unit 6. In the present embodiment, as will be described later, an ultrasonic sensor is used as the near full sensor 96, and it is possible to arbitrarily measure the loading height of the fine pieces other than the near full state.

Here, when the main power switch 24 of the main body unit 2 of the shredding processing device is operated from OFF to ON, a predetermined initialization process is started by the control unit 6 that detects the operation. Thereafter, the state management of the shredding device is performed by the control unit 6, and the state of the shredding device is displayed on the operation display unit 5.
The state of the shredding processing device includes an initialization, a stopped state, a standby (standby) state, a (shredding) processing state, a power saving state, an error occurrence state, and a system error (UM) state. There is also a maintenance / management state, DIAG. First, when a predetermined initialization process is completed, the shredding device is stopped. When a start switch (not shown) is pressed in the stop state, the state shifts to a standby state. When the paper sensor 90 detects that the used paper has been input into the input unit 11, the crushing unit 3 is activated to start processing (shredding processing) of the used paper (auto start), and the processing state is entered. When the waste paper processing is completed, the processing state returns to the standby state (auto stop).

  Further, when a start button (not shown) is kept pressed for a predetermined time in the standby state, the mode shifts to the manual mode. In this manual mode, waste paper processing is continued while a start button (not shown) is pressed. Note that the fan 23 operates as necessary under the control of the control unit 6. Further, when no operation is performed after a predetermined time has passed since the transition to the stop state, the state shifts to the power saving state to save power and waits for a start button (not shown) to be pressed.

  On the other hand, when the door sensor 98 detects that the open / close door 25 is opened in the processing state, an error occurs, and the processing of used paper is immediately stopped. Further, an emergency stop button (push button switch) 51 constituting a part of the operation display unit 5 of the shredding processing device is provided on the upper surface portion 1, and when this emergency stop button 51 is pressed in the processing state. It is forcibly stopped and an error occurs. When the control unit 6 determines that a paper jam has occurred, for example, a predetermined paper jam process such as stopping the crushing motor 36 is executed. Further, near-full and full processing for detecting the amount of fine fragments (debris, chips) accommodated in the collection box (accommodating unit) 22 and executing system control is performed.

The collection capacity of the collection box (accommodating section) 22 can be arbitrarily selected depending on the design dimensions of the apparatus. For example, if the width is 450 mm, the height is 360 mm, and the depth is about 320 mm, about 51840 cm ^3. Capacity can be secured. At this time, as the near full state by the near full sensor 96, for example, the capacity at the time when a chip (fine fragment) reaches a height of about 242 mm from the bottom surface of the collection box 22 can be set. The number of sheets in the near full state is about 1000 sheets and the total weight is about 4000 g on the standard paper (Fuji Xerox, Green 100 (G100) A4 size.) The near full sensor 96 detects the near full state. After that, the design target value (setting value) at which the apparatus is full is the capacity at the time when a part of the chip reaches a height of about 333 mm from the bottom surface of the collection box 22, and is the same paper as described above. About 1500 sheets and the total weight can be about 6000 g.

Next, specific processing contents of the shredding device will be described.
First, when the paper sensor 90 detects that waste paper has been input into the input unit 11 in the standby state, the crushing motor 36 and the compression motor 44 are operated according to instructions from the control unit 6. The used waste paper is pressed against the rotary blades 33A of the first rotary blade row 32A (low speed side) by the pressing member 34 and hooked on the rotary blades 33A while being separated one by one. For this reason, when the first rotary blade row 32A and the second rotary blade row 32B of the crushing unit 3 rotate, the used paper hooked on the rotary blade 33A of the first rotary blade row 32A becomes the first rotary blade row. While being wound around 32A, it is drawn into the inside one by one. In the meshing portion 35, the waste paper hooked on the first rotary blade row 32A is torn off by the second rotary blade row 32B and crushed. The waste paper that has been crushed into fine pieces becomes chips (fine pieces) and falls to the compression unit 4 in the next step (compression step). On the other hand, the large waste paper is crushed again by the meshing portion 35, and the wastepaper that has not been finely crushed still repeats the passage of the meshing portion 35 until it becomes fine. In this way, the shredding device first separates the used waste paper one by one and then tears it into a chip by the speed difference between the first rotary blade row 32A and the second rotary blade row 32B. (Shred processing). At this time, almost all the used paper wound around the first rotary blade row 32A is torn off by the second rotary blade row 32B and moves to the second rotary blade row 32B. For this reason, the rotary blade 33A of the first rotary blade row 32A is always exposed without being filled with waste paper, and the function of the first rotary blade row 32A to hook the waste paper is maintained.

  Chips formed by crushing waste paper by the crushing unit 3 fall into the hopper 41 of the compression unit 4 and enter the cylindrical member 42 from the upper end portion 42 a of the cylindrical member 42. In the cylindrical member 42, the chip is pushed toward the lower end portion 42 b of the cylindrical member 42 by the screw 43 rotating by the driving force of the compression motor 44. On the other hand, since the lower end portion 42 b of the cylindrical member 42 has a diaphragm shape, the chip is prevented from passing through the cylindrical member 42. In this way, the chip is compressed by the pressing force of the screw 43 in the cylindrical member 42, and is eventually pushed out from the cylindrical member 42 as a lump of chips.

The lump of chips formed by the compression unit 4 is transferred through the duct 21 by the pressing force of the screw 43. The downstream end 21 a of the duct 21 is positioned above the collection box 22, and the lump of chips is pushed out of the duct 21, discharged into the collection box 22, and loaded in the collection box 22.
The chips in the collection box 22 are opened and opened from the main body 2 together with the collection box 22 by opening the door 25 and collected. Note that the recovered chips are easy to realize the recycling because the paper fibers are not cut. Further, since the collected chip is a waste paper that is irregularly and irregularly crushed, high confidentiality can be maintained.

Next, the configuration of the near full sensor 96, which is a characteristic configuration of the present embodiment, will be described.
3A and 3B are diagrams for explaining the near full sensor 96 used in the shredding device. 3A shows a schematic configuration example of the near full sensor 96, and FIG. 3B shows an example of a sensing range by the near full sensor 96. As shown in FIG. In the present embodiment, a transmission / reception independent ultrasonic sensor is used as the near full sensor 96.

  As shown in FIG. 3A, in the near full sensor 96, a transmission side sensor 81 and a reception side sensor 82 are attached at a sensor attachment position above the collection box 22 with a distance of 60 mm. Further, the transmission side sensor 81 is surrounded by a transmission side cylinder 83 extending from a sensor mounting position of φ20 mm and a length of 50 mm, and the directivity is enhanced toward the lower collection box 22. Similarly, the reception side sensor 82 is surrounded by a reception side cylinder 84 extending from a sensor mounting position of φ50 mm and length 50 mm. A small-diameter cylinder is selected as the transmission-side cylinder 83 in order to increase directivity and reduce wave dispersion, and a large-diameter cylinder is selected as the reception-side cylinder 84 in order to improve reception performance. ing. The longer the length of these cylinders, the less susceptible to disturbance (ultrasound) noise, and the signal (especially the received signal) tends to be stable.

  Here, when the collection box 22 is configured as described above, the designed sensor mounting position is at a height of, for example, 153 mm from the upper end of the collection box 22, and the near full sensor 96 wants to detect near fullness. To 271 (360 + 153-242) mm, for example. The actual calculated distance (distance calculated based on the time from transmission to reception) by the near full sensor 96 is about 513 (360 + 153) mm to 153 mm. Further, as the ultrasonic sensor used in the present embodiment, for example, an ultrasonic band transducer manufactured by Nippon Ceramic Co., Ltd. is used. For example, the center frequency is 32.7 kHz, the sound pressure is 115 dB at the minimum value, and the sensitivity. Is -67 dB as the minimum value, and the bandwidth is 3.0 kHz / 100 dB as the minimum value.

  As described above, the near full sensor 96 of the present embodiment surrounds the transmission side sensor 81 and the reception side sensor 82 with the cylinders (the transmission side cylinder 83 and the reception side cylinder 84), so that signals (particularly reception signals) can be obtained. Signal). FIG. 3 (b) shows a sensing range that can be measured by the structure of FIG. 3 (a). The sensing range varies depending on the type of ultrasonic sensor and the distance from the sensor, but depends on the distance between the sensor between the transmission side sensor 81 and the reception side sensor 82, the shape of the transmission side cylinder 83 and the reception side cylinder 84, and the like. Also changes. By using the cylindrical shape, the sensing range can be positioned at substantially the center between the transmission side sensor 81 and the reception side sensor 82. The example shown in FIG. 3B shows a sensing range at a position 20 cm away from the sensor mounting position. In the near full sensor 96 of the present embodiment, on the line connecting the transmission-side sensor 81 and the reception-side sensor 82, a point away from the intersection of the circumscribed portion of the reception-side cylinder 84 to the transmission-side sensor 81 side is about 5 mm. As a center, it has been confirmed by experiments that a portion indicated by diagonal lines having a diameter of about 60 mm is a sensing range. The relationship between the distance from the sensor and the sensing range was evaluated by the applicant. As a result, it has been found that the sensing range remains approximately 50 mm to 70 mm in diameter when the distance from the sensor is between 100 mm and 500 mm.

  Here, since the shredding device shreds the paper, it generally generates a lot of paper dust. Therefore, when a sensor such as a transmissive photo interrupter is used inside, the sensitivity is greatly reduced due to the adhesion of the paper powder, and satisfactory measurement cannot be performed. However, in the present embodiment, by using an ultrasonic sensor that has a relatively low sensitivity reduction effect on dust, it is possible to perform a good measurement of the amount of paper pieces loaded inside the shredding device that generates a lot of paper dust. Become. Further, since the surface of the ultrasonic sensor vibrates, it also functions to prevent paper dust from being deposited by shaking the paper dust by itself. As described above, by using the near full sensor 96 using an ultrasonic sensor, it is possible to satisfactorily measure the height of shredded paper (used paper) in the collection box 22.

  Instead of providing the transmission side cylinder 83 and the reception side cylinder 84 shown in FIG. 3A, other interference prevention structures for transmission / reception signals can be employed. For example, it is also effective to provide a partition wall at a substantially central position between the transmission side sensor 81 and the reception side sensor 82. As this partition wall, for example, the partition wall is attached in a state of being in contact with the surface of the sensor attachment position in a direction orthogonal to a line connecting the center positions of the transmission side sensor 81 and the reception side sensor 82, and is vertically fixed downward. It is possible to adopt a structure that extends with a length of. The partition wall is selected in such a size that transmission / reception signals from the transmission side sensor 81 and the reception side sensor 82 do not interfere with each other. The size of the partition wall is determined by the distance between the sensors and the length (height) of the wall. For example, if the wall has a width of 100 mm in the above-mentioned orthogonal direction, and the sensor distance is 70 mm, the transmission / reception signals do not interfere with each other if the length (height) is 50 mm or more. It was confirmed. Further, when the distance between the sensors was 30 mm, a result requiring a length (height) of 90 mm or more was obtained. Thus, the influence of disturbance noise can be reduced by the partition wall. However, in order to stabilize the waveform, it is preferable to employ a structure in which the transmission side cylinder 83 and the reception side cylinder 84 shown in FIG.

  FIG. 4 is a flowchart showing processing of the control unit 6 executed using the near full sensor 96. In the height measurement using the ultrasonic sensor, the control unit 6 first determines whether or not a predetermined time has passed as the polling interval (step 101). In the shredding device of this embodiment, the state of the chip does not always change, so the polling interval is set to be as long as, for example, about a 5 second period. Wait until the time elapses in step 101, and when the time elapses, ultrasonic waves are transmitted and received using the transmission side sensor 81 and the reception side sensor 82 (step 102), and the distance (chip height) is detected. Is performed (step 103). In addition to the polling interval shown in step 101, height detection (periodic detection) is performed by the near full sensor 96 when the shredding device is in a specific state. For example, in the initializing state, the standby (standby) state, the processing state, and the error occurrence state, detection work is performed at intervals of 5 seconds, for example. In practice, it is preferable that the processing from step 101 onward is performed when the near full sensor 96 detects “paper present”.

  Thereafter, it is determined whether or not a certain time (for example, 50 ms) at which the reflected wave of the transmission signal is sufficiently attenuated / absorbed and does not affect the next reception has elapsed (step 104). Since the measurement target is in a narrow and closed space in the shredding device and the sound wave does not escape, it is configured to wait until a time that does not affect the next reception before sending the next transmission signal is doing. Here, the control unit 6 determines whether or not n times (n is an integer of 2 or more, for example, 3 times) have been repeated (step 105). By setting the number of measurements (n times) to a plurality of about 3 times or more, highly reliable measurement is possible. That is, since the object to be measured is a bundle (clump) of paper pieces and not a flat reflection, the transmission / reception cycle is performed a plurality of times (for example, three times) in one polling (transmission / reception operation) in view of the tendency of the measurement results to vary. ) Repeatedly, the measurement result is confirmed when the reception result is at a certain level. If n predetermined measurements have not been completed, the process returns to step 102 and the measurement is repeated. When n measurements are completed, the level of the n measurements is grasped (step 106). Here, it is determined whether or not the grasped level of n times of measurement satisfies a predetermined condition (step 107). For example, the average value or a plurality of measurement results are at a certain level, or all measurement results are at a certain level or more.

  If the condition is not satisfied in step 107, the process returns to step 101, and the measurement process is executed again after the next polling interval has elapsed. If the condition of step 107 is satisfied, the obtained value is confirmed and output to, for example, the operation display unit 5 (step 108). In some cases, the data is simply stored in a memory provided inside the control unit 6. It is also possible to transfer to a monitoring center or the like via a network (not shown). Thereafter, the control unit 6 determines whether or not the loaded amount of chips in the collection box 22 is greater than or equal to the near full state (step 109). For example, when the transmission / reception detection cycle by the near full sensor 96 is performed three times and a near full state (for example, a state where the distance from the sensor is shorter than 271 mm) is detected in all three times, Determine the near full condition. If the near full state has not been reached, the process returns to step 101 and the process is repeated. If it is greater than or equal to the near full state, for example, the near full state is stored in the memory, and a warning is output to the operation display unit 5 or an external computer via the network (step 110). Thereafter, the control unit 6 determines whether or not it is full (step 111). If it is full, a full notification is executed (step 112). If it is not full, the process returns to step 101 and the process is repeated.

  FIG. 5 is a diagram for explaining an example of a transmission / reception detection cycle by the near full sensor 96. The upper row shows the transmission cycle from the transmission side sensor 81, and the lower row shows the reception cycle by the reception side sensor 82. For example, the polling interval is 5 seconds (S), the transmission / reception cycle by one polling is 3 times, and the interval is 50 ms. In this way, the height of the chip in the collection box 22 can be satisfactorily measured using the ultrasonic sensor.

  When near-full is determined, the following warning process is executed. For example, in step 110, a near full character may be displayed on the operation display unit 5 such as an LCD, or a warning message such as “the chip will soon be full” may be displayed. In addition, information indicating that the near full state is detected may be stored in a memory in the control unit 6 or a number counting process described later may be started. This near full state is, for example, when the recovery box set sensor 94 detects that the recovery box 22 is present when the power is turned on until the fullness is detected after the near full is detected. At the time of initialization after turning ON from OFF, it is canceled when the near full sensor 96 detects that it is not near full. Examples of the release of the near full state include clearing the near full detection information in the memory and canceling the number counting process.

  Further, the full state in step 111 can be detected by counting the number of sheets made from the near full state in addition to the determination based on the sensor output from the near full sensor 96. For example, as described above, the shredding device of the present embodiment uses the pressing member 34 and the rotary blade 33A of the first rotary blade row 32A (low speed side) to separate the used waste paper one by one. I can refuse. Therefore, the shredding time is converted into the number of used paper, and for example, when 500 sheets are counted from the near full state, it is recognized as full. For example, if the full detection by such count processing and the full detection by the sensor output from the near full sensor 96 are used in combination, and it can be recognized that the full state is detected by any one of the detection methods, The reliability for full state detection can be greatly improved.

  As described above in detail, according to the present embodiment, the height of chips (paper pieces) accumulated in the collection box 22 can be measured, and near-full and full states can be distinguished and detected. In the near full sensor 96, since the time until the signal returns to the reception side sensor 82 after the transmission signal from the transmission side sensor 81 is output is observed, only the presence / absence of chips accumulated in the collection box 22 is detected. Instead, the chip load can be detected. Therefore, it is possible to recognize the empty state of the collection box 22. Furthermore, in this embodiment, since an ultrasonic sensor is used as the near full sensor 96, it is particularly effective when employed in a shredding device that generates a large amount of paper dust. That is, the sensitivity of a sensor such as a transmissive photo interrupter is greatly reduced when paper dust adheres, but the sensitivity of an ultrasonic sensor is less likely to occur. In addition, since the surface of the sensor vibrates, it can also be expected to prevent paper dust from sticking by shaking the paper dust. In the present embodiment, independent sensors are employed for transmission and reception.However, by using a sensor for both transmission and reception, or by alternately allocating the transmission side and the reception side, the sensor on the reception side ( It is possible to prevent paper dust from accumulating on the receiving side sensor 82).

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, not only the near full state and full state information can be displayed on the operation display unit 5, but also can be output to an external PC or the like via a network by a communication control unit (not shown). It becomes. For example, near full or full information can also be transferred via an internal network such as Ethernet (trademark of Xerox) or an external network such as the Internet. As a result, the PC of a workplace manager or a remote management device (for example, a PC) can grasp the state of the collection box 22 when necessary, and can smoothly proceed with various operations.

It is a schematic block diagram which shows the external appearance of the shredding processing apparatus which concerns on this Embodiment. It is a block diagram for demonstrating the internal mechanism of the shredding processing apparatus shown in FIG. (a), (b) is a figure for demonstrating the near full sensor used with a shredding processing apparatus. It is the flowchart which showed the process of the control part performed using a near full sensor. It is a figure for demonstrating the example of a detection cycle of transmission / reception by a near full sensor.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 2 ... Main-body part, 5 ... Operation display part, 6 ... Control part, 22 ... Collection box, 81 ... Transmission side sensor, 82 ... Reception side sensor, 83 ... Transmission side cylinder, 84 ... Reception side cylinder, 96 ... Near Full sensor

Claims (10)

A shredding device for shredding paper,
A storage section for storing chips of shredded paper;
A supply unit that compresses the chips of the shredded paper and supplies the chips to the storage unit;
A transmission-side sensor that is disposed above the housing portion and transmits an ultrasonic signal toward the bottom of the housing portion ;
A reception-side sensor that is disposed above the housing and receives a reflected wave of the signal transmitted by the transmission-side sensor;
A transmitting side enclosing member having a first hole that is released in the direction of the bottom of the housing and surrounds the transmitting side sensor;
A receiving side enclosing member having a second hole that is released in the direction of the bottom of the housing and surrounds the receiving side sensor;
Look including a recognizing control unit stacking height of a plurality of the loading state of the chip which is housed in the housing portion using the detection result of the reception side sensor,
The diameter of the first hole is smaller than the diameter of the second hole,
The control unit performs a plurality of cycles of transmission by the transmission side sensor and reception by the reception side sensor in one polling cycle, and recognizes one loading height using a detection result in the plurality of cycles. Do
A shredding device characterized by that . 2. The shredding device according to claim 1, wherein the transmission interval in the plurality of cycles is a time required for the reflected wave of the transmitted signal to be attenuated and / or absorbed. 2. The detailed control according to claim 1, wherein the control unit recognizes that a chip loading state is a near full state, which is a state before the storage unit is full, using a detection result of the receiving side sensor. Cutting device. 2. The shredding device according to claim 1, wherein a cross section of the first hole and a cross section of the second hole are circles. The transmission side sensor is provided at a central portion of a circle in a cross section of the first hole,
The shredding device according to claim 4, wherein the receiving side sensor is provided at a central portion of a circle in a cross section of the second hole. A shredding device for shredding paper,
A storage section for storing chips of shredded paper;
A supply unit that compresses the chips of the shredded paper and supplies the chips to the storage unit;
A first member having a cylindrical first inner wall disposed above the housing portion and released in the direction of the bottom of the housing portion;
A second member that is disposed above the housing part and is released in the direction of the bottom of the housing part and has a cylindrical second inner wall having a cross section larger than that of the first inner wall;
A transmission-side sensor that is disposed inside the first inner wall of the first member and transmits an ultrasonic signal toward the bottom of the housing;
A reception-side sensor that is disposed inside the second inner wall of the second member and receives a reflected wave of the signal transmitted by the transmission-side sensor;
Whether the chip is considered to be fully accommodated in the accommodating part using the recognition result by the receiving side sensor , or is the near full condition in which the chip has not reached the full condition but is almost full And a control unit for distinguishing and outputting ,
The control unit performs a transmission cycle by the transmission-side sensor and a reception cycle by the reception-side sensor a plurality of times in one polling cycle, and is in the full state using the recognition result in the plurality of cycles. Or whether the near-full state is distinguished
A shredding device characterized by that . 7. The shredding device according to claim 6, wherein the transmission interval in the plurality of cycles is a time required for the reflected wave of the transmitted signal to be attenuated and / or absorbed. The shredding device according to claim 6, wherein the first inner wall and the second inner wall are cylindrical. The transmission side sensor is provided at a central portion of a circle in a cross section of the first inner wall,
9. The shredding device according to claim 8, wherein the receiving side sensor is provided at a central portion of a circle in a cross section of the second inner wall. 7. The shredding device according to claim 6, wherein the transmitting side sensor and / or the receiving side sensor screen off the paper dust adhering to the sensor by vibration caused by ultrasonic waves .

Images