Medium processing apparatus and method

Abstract

A medium processing apparatus which corrects the tilt of a medium is provided. The medium processing apparatus according to one embodiment of the present disclosure includes a conveyer configured to convey a medium along a conveying path, and a shutter located along the conveying path to block the conveyance of the medium. The medium processing apparatus further includes a detector configured to detect a tilt of the medium with respect to the shutter, and a shutter controller configured to control the shutter to unblock the conveyance of the medium when the detector determines that the tilt of the medium is corrected.

1 . A medium processing apparatus comprising:
 a conveyer configured to convey a medium along a conveying path;   a shutter located along the conveying path to block the conveyance of the medium;   a detector configured to detect a tilt of the medium with respect to the shutter; and   a shutter controller configured to control the shutter to unblock the conveyance of the medium when the detector determines that the tilt of the medium is corrected.   
     
     
         2 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the shutter blocks the advance of the medium in a state that a conveying force is applied to the medium by the conveyer. 
     
     
         3 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the shutter is provided perpendicular to the direction of conveyance by the conveyer. 
     
     
         4 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the detector comprises two or more sensors configured to detect that one side of the medium is arranged substantially parallel to the shutter. 
     
     
         5 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the two or more sensors are arranged at intervals shorter than the length of the one side of the medium. 
     
     
         6 . The apparatus of  claim 4 , wherein the conveyer is further configured to convey multiple types of media with different sizes, and the two or more sensors are arranged at intervals shorter than the length of the shortest side of the multiple types of media. 
     
     
         7 . The apparatus of  claim 6 , wherein the conveyer is further configured to convey the medium having the maximum size of the multiple types of media and convey the medium in a conveying position corresponding to a position where the medium is inserted, and the two or more sensors are arranged at intervals shorter than the length of the shortest side of the multiple types of the media. 
     
     
         8 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conveyer comprises:
 a pinch roller configured to apply pressure to the medium and conveys the medium; and   a pinch roller pressure control unit configured to control the pressure applied to the medium by the pinch roller to be adjusted at a first pressure when conveyance of the medium is blocked by the shutter, and configured to control the pressure applied by the pinch roller to the medium to be adjusted to a second pressure when the conveyance of the medium by the shutter is unblocked, the second pressure being higher than or equal to the first pressure.   
     
     
         9 . The apparatus of  claim 1 , wherein the conveyer conveys the medium, which is blocked from advancing by the shutter, by a predetermined distance after it is determined based on the detection result of the tilt of the medium that the correction of the tilt of the medium is completed, and the shutter controller unblocks the conveyance of the medium by the shutter after the conveyer conveys the medium by the predetermined distance. 
     
     
         10 . A medium processing apparatus, comprising:
 a conveyer configured to convey a medium along a conveying path;   a shutter located along the conveying path to block the advance of the medium;   a detector configured to detect whether one side of the medium is substantially parallel to the shutter;   a control unit configured to detect a tilt of the medium with respect to the shutter based on the state of the medium detected by the detector and configured to configured to control the conveyer to perform the conveyance of the medium when the tilt of the medium is detected by the detector; and   a shutter controller configured to control the shutter to unblock the advance of the medium when one side of the medium is determined to be adjusted in substantially parallel to the shutter.   
     
     
         11 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the conveyer comprises a pinch roller configured to apply a pressure and a conveying force to the medium when conveying the medium. 
     
     
         12 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , further comprising: a pinch roller pressure control unit configured to control the pressure applied to the medium by the pinch roller to be adjusted at a first pressure when the advance of the medium is blocked by the shutter, and configured to control the pressure applied by the pinch roller to the medium to be adjusted at a second pressure, which is higher than or equal to the first pressure, when the advance of the medium by the shutter is unblocked. 
     
     
         13 . The apparatus of  claim 11 , wherein the conveying force is applied to the medium when the advance of the medium is blocked by the shutter. 
     
     
         14 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the control unit controls the conveyer to further convey the medium by a predetermined distance when the medium is determined to be adjusted substantially parallel to the shutter before opening the shutter. 
     
     
         15 . The apparatus of  claim 10 , wherein the detector comprises a plurality of sensors configured to detect whether one side of the medium is substantially parallel to the shutter. 
     
     
         16 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the plurality of sensors are arranged so that at least two sensors of the plurality of sensors detect the medium when the one side of the medium is arranged substantially parallel to the shutter. 
     
     
         17 . The apparatus of  claim 15 , wherein the conveyer is further configured to convey multiple types of media with different sizes, and the plurality of sensors are arranged at intervals shorter than the length of the shortest side of the multiple types of media. 
     
     
         18 . A medium processing method for driving a medium processing apparatus comprising
 a conveyer configured to convey a medium, and a shutter configured to block the advance of the medium, the method comprising;   detecting through a detector an insertion of the medium to the medium processing apparatus;   performing through the conveyer a loading feed of the medium by conveying the medium a predetermined distance;   detecting through the detector a tilt of the medium with respect to the shutter by determining whether one side of the medium is substantially parallel to the shutter;   retrying the loading feed of the medium when the tilt of the medium is detected by the detector; and   opening the shutter to unblock the advance of the medium when one side of the medium is determined to be arranged substantially parallel to the shutter.   
     
     
         19 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the loading feed of the medium is performed in a state that a conveying force is applied to the medium by the conveyer. 
     
     
         20 . The method of  claim 18 , wherein the loading feed of the medium is performed by the conveyer while applying a first pressure to the medium, and the advance of the medium after opening the shutter is performed by the conveyer while applying a second pressure, which is higher than or equal to the first pressure, to the medium.