Adjustable Sheet Discharge Roller Pair for Stiffening
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face challenges in achieving balanced stiffening of sheets with varying stiffness, leading to issues like roller marks and inefficient stacking due to complex and costly configurations for adjusting sheet discharge rollers.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a sheet discharge roller pair comprising a first roller with multiple bodies and a second roller, supported by a frame to adjust the distance between their axes, and an elastic member to regulate movement, ensuring proper stiffening regardless of sheet type through a simple and cost-effective mechanism.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the stiffening force is strengthened by increasing the corrugating amount of the sheet, then sheets with low stiffness are properly stiffened, but sheets with high stiffness strongly contact the sheet discharge roller pair causing roller marks
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes the sheet discharge roller pair dynamically adjustable by allowing the distance between the two rollers to be changed based on sheet stiffness. The roller pair can move closer together for low-stiffness sheets to provide stronger stiffening, and move farther apart for high-stiffness sheets to reduce contact pressure and prevent roller marks. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction between needing strong stiffening for thin sheets and avoiding excessive contact for thick sheets.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the physical parameter of the roller pair configuration by adjusting the distance between the two rollers. By varying this distance parameter, the system adapts the stiffening force to match different sheet stiffness levels, thereby preventing both insufficient stiffening of thin sheets and excessive contact of thick sheets that causes roller marks.
2Device complexity
If a fixed center distance between the two rollers is used, then the device complexity is reduced, but the stiffening amount becomes insufficient for sheets with low stiffness
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using a fixed roller configuration, the patent implements a dynamic roller pair that can adjust its distance based on sheet properties. This dynamic capability allows the system to provide appropriate stiffening for different sheet types while maintaining relatively simple device architecture through automated or manual adjustment mechanisms rather than complex multi-roller configurations.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The apparatus effectively stiffens sheets of varying stiffness without increasing apparatus size or complexity, reducing roller marks and improving stacking performance by adjusting the distance between rollers based on sheet type.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic member configured to urge at least one of the first roller and the second roller so as to relatively bring one of the first roller and the second roller close to another of the first roller and the second roller
Implementation Method 2
the sheet is conveyed while being sandwiched with a frictional force generated between the two rollers
Data Source
AI summary
Provided is an image forming apparatus including: a support portion configured to support first and second rollers to be able to increase/decrease a distance between an axis line of the first roller and an axis line of the second roller including a second roller body; an elastic member configured to urge at least one of the first and second rollers to relatively bring it close to the other; and a regulating portion configured to regulate, at a position at which part of the plurality of first roller bodies and part of the second roller body overlap each other in a direction orthogonal to the axial direction, movement of the at least one of the first and second rollers in a direction of increasing the distance between the axis line of the first roller and the axis line of the second roller.