Actuator Placement for Sheet Transport Skew Control
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming apparatuses, the actuator's reaction force impedes the sheet from rotating to follow the reference guide, preventing proper width direction positioning due to its placement downstream of the skew roller pair and upstream of the second transport roller pair.
Innovation Solution
The actuator is positioned between the center and the end of the transport surface in the width direction, downstream of the skew roller pair and upstream of the second transport roller pair, allowing the skew roller pair to transport the sheet in a skewed manner, reducing the actuator's interference with the sheet's rotation and enabling the reference guide to properly restrict the sheet's position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the actuator is disposed at the center in the width direction to detect sheet presence, then detection function is achieved, but the reaction force from the actuator impedes the sheet from rotating to follow the reference guide
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is repositioned from the center position to an off-center position in the width direction, specifically between the center and the end of the transport surface. This spatial relocation in the width dimension allows the actuator to detect sheet presence while its reaction force acts at a position that does not interfere with the sheet's rotation about the reference guide, thus resolving the contradiction between detection accuracy and sheet rotation ease
2Productivity
If the actuator is positioned downstream of the skew roller pair and upstream of the second transport roller pair, then sheet detection during transport is enabled, but the actuator interferes with the sheet's rotation to follow the reference guide
Solution Approach 1:
The actuator is positioned at a specific location between the center and end of the transport surface in the width direction, creating a localized detection zone that does not interfere with the sheet's rotation path. This localized positioning allows the actuator to perform its detection function in a specific region while leaving other regions free for the sheet to rotate and follow the reference guide without obstruction
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet transport device includes a transport guide for guiding, along its transport surface, a sheet in a transport direction, a first transport roller pair, a second transport roller pair, a skew roller pair, a reference wall, and an actuator. The skew roller pair alone transports, in a skewed manner toward an end of the transport surface in a width direction orthogonal to the transport direction, the sheet spaced from the first transport roller and the second transport roller. The reference wall is positioned at the end of the transport surface in the width direction and extends along the transport direction. The actuator is disposed downstream of the skew roller pair and upstream of the second transport roller pair in the transport direction and between the end and a center of the transport surface in the width direction.