Apparatus for counting the number of paper sheets

A sheet transfer apparatus is for a sheet counting apparatus in which paper sheets stored in a hopper in a stacked state are fed by a payout roll from the hopper to a stacker at the downstream side of the payout roll. A guide assembly is disposed opposite to the periphery of the payout roll and is adapted to separately guide the paper sheets from the hopper toward the stacker in cooperation with the payout roll. According to the invention, the guide assembly, which has a frame member carrying a separating roll, a pinch roll and a guide plate, is pivotally mounted so as to be movable between a closed position in which it is close to the periphery of the feed-out roll and an opened position in which it is farther away from such roll. The position of the frame member is controlled by a pivotable opening/closing device engageable with the frame member for selectively holding the frame member in the closed position or the opened position.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 
This invention relates to an apparatus for counting the number of paper 
sheets. More particularly, it relates to such apparatus in which the paper 
sheets stored in the hopper are fed out one by one towards a downstream 
device, e.g. a stacker by means of a payout roll adapted for cooperating 
with a separating roll and a pinch roll. 
Heretofore, in this type of the apparatus, means cooperating with the 
payout roll for feeding or reeling out paper sheets, such as the 
separating roll or pinch roll, is mounted in a fixed position. Thus, when 
the paper sheets being fed out have become stuffed in the gap between said 
feed-out means and the payout roll, these paper sheets need be removed by 
a troublesome and time-consuming operation, thus causing great costs and 
labor in maintenance and repair. 
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION 
It is an object of the present invention to provide means for effectively 
obviating the foregoing deficiency and more particularly to provide an 
arrangement in which the guide unit or assembly comprised of the 
separating roll and the pinch roll is supported by a movable frame member, 
and in which the guide unit may be moved by an opening/closing device 
between its open and closed positions.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT 
Reference is now had to the accompanying drawings showing a preferred 
embodiment of the paper sheet counting apparatus according to the present 
invention. 
In FIGS. 1 and 2, a box-like frame member 1 is rotatably supported through 
a supporting shaft 4 by flanges 2, 3 of a main body of the apparatus, not 
shown. In a lower opening 1a of the frame member 1, there are mounted a 
separating roll 7 and a pinch roll 8 an the housing side wall by means of 
a separating roll shaft 5 and a pinch roll shaft 6, respectively, in a 
mutually spaced apart relation and so as to be rotated by driving means, 
not shown. A payout roll 10 is rotatably supported by said flanges 2, 3 
through a payout roll shaft 9. A portion of the outer periphery of the 
payout roll 10 is formed as a highly frictional surface 11 made e.g. of 
rubber. A hopper 12 in which the paper sheets are stacked is provided 
above the payout roll 10, while a lower guide plate 13, a pair of 
extracting rolls 14 and a vane stacker 15 are mounted below the payout 
roll 10. The upper guide plate 16 is extended at one end into the lower 
opening 1a of the frame member 1 and disposed at the other and above the 
one end of the lower guide plate 13. The upper guide plate 16 is carried 
by the frame member 1 and cooperates with the separating roll 7 and the 
pinch roll 8 for providing a guide unit. 
A frame opening shaft 17 is integrally mounted on an upper portion 1b of 
the frame member 1, and a supporting shaft 18 is carried by the flanges 2, 
3. A frame opening lever 21 having a first locking groove 19 and a second 
locking groove 20 is integrally mounted at one end of the supporting shaft 
18, and a locking lever 23 having a locking groove 22 is secured to the 
other end of the shaft 18. A spring 24 engaged at one end with the opening 
shaft 17 is engaged at the other by a stud 25 provided at the lower part 
of the opening lever 21. The upper end of the frame opening lever carries 
a frame opening button 26. 
With the aforementioned construction, when it is desired to actuate the 
guide unit opening and closing device of the paper sheet counting 
apparatus according to the present invention, the opening button 26 of the 
opening lever 21 is pushed in the direction of the arrow marked A starting 
from the state shown in FIG. 1. This disengages the frame opening shaft 17 
of the frame 1 from the first locking groove 19 of the opening lever 21 
and the locking groove 22 of the locking lever 23. The shaft 17 slides on 
guide surface 21c of the opening lever 21 as shown in FIG. 3 and finally 
engages in the second locking groove 20 of the opening lever 21 as shown 
in FIG. 4. The frame member 1 is moved away from the payout roll 10 and 
kept in the open state for opening the guide unit. 
When the frame member 1 is returned from the open state of the frame member 
1 shown in FIG. 4 to the closed state shown in FIG. 1, the upper surface 
of the frame member 1 is moved manually in the direction of the arrow 
marked B, starting from the opening state shown in FIG. 4. By the reverse 
of the procedure depicted in the foregoing, the opening shaft 17 is 
shifted from the second locking groove 20 to the first locking groove 19 
of the opening lever 21 and engaged again in the locking groove 22 of the 
locking lever 23, thus returning to the state shown in FIG. 1, the guide 
unit being thus kept in the closed state. 
In the closed state shown in FIG. 1, when the separating roll 7, pinch roll 
8 and the payout roll 10 are rotated in the direction shown by the 
associated arrow marks, the paper sheets (not shown) placed in the hopper 
are separated and intermittently fed out by the payout roll 10. The sheets 
are then extracted by the set of extracting rolls 14 through the upper 
guide plate 16 and the lower guide plate 13 and stacked by vane stacker 15 
in a bandsealing unit (not shown) where they are bandsealed automatically. 
From the foregoing it is seen that the guide unit may be easily maintained 
in the opened state by the operation of the opening and closing device, 
thus providing for more facilitated maintenance and inspection of the 
apparatus and improved operational reliability.