Apparatus for processing sheet like materials

An apparatus for processing sheet like materials comprising:

• sheet take-out/transfer means for taking out sheets one by one from a stack of sheet like materials and feeding the sheets along a first transfer path;
• inspection means provided along said first transfer path for inspecting the sheets to determine if they are normal, soiled or unidentifiable;
• a sheet transfer device for transferring a sheet determined to be normal along a second transfer path and a sheet determined to be soiled along a third transfer path;
• a normal unit sheet-stack forming device for receiving normal sheets from said second transfer path and stacking a predetermined number thereof in a vertical direction to obtain a normal unit sheet-stack;
• and
• a normal unit sheet-stack bundling means for receiving said normal unit sheet-stack, bundling it, and transferring the bundled unit sheet-stack to a fourth transfer path, the normal unit sheet-stack bundling device comprising:
• a unit sheet-stack transfer mechanism for receiving said unit sheet stack at a first position whereat the respective sheets of the stack are postured substantially horizontally, and transferring said unit sheet-stack to a second position whereat the respective sheets of the stack are postured substantially vertically;
• a mechanism for forming a bundling loop for bundling said unit sheet-stack by winding into a loop a free end portion of a tape fed from a tape feeding source, said bundling loop forming mechanism comprising first and second guide plates disposed at predetermined positions for guiding said unit sheet-stack when said unit sheet-stack is inserted into said bundling loop, third and fourth guide plates arranged between said first and second guide plates and in parallel therewith, for guiding the free end of said tape, rollers for feeding the free end of said tape between said third and fourth guide plates, and means for rotating said first to fourth guide plates in respective predetermined directions to thereby form said loop;
• and
• a bundling mechanism having means for inserting said unit sheet-stack into said bundling loop while said respective sheets are postured in said substantially vertical state, means for tightening said bundling loop to squeeze said inserted unit sheet-stack, and means for bonding an outer end portion of said bundling loop tightened to an outer periphery portion of said bundling loop.