Adjustable Sheet Tray Angle Control for Jam Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Sheet processing apparatuses face challenges in properly ejecting sheets due to the inconvenient location of the sheet tray at a lower portion, requiring users to bend down and leading to issues like paper jam and improper ejection when the tray's angle is adjusted for easier removal.
Innovation Solution
A sheet processing apparatus with a sheet tray that can adjust its angle and includes a control unit and detection devices to manage sheet ejection based on the angle, type, and number of sheets, using conveyance belts to stack or position sheets for easy removal, and switching between conveyance modes to facilitate proper ejection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the sheet tray angle is adjusted to facilitate sheet removal, then user convenience is improved, but proper sheet ejection is compromised causing paper jam and paper stuck
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet tray angle is made adjustable, allowing the system to adapt between different operational modes: a lower angle for easy sheet removal by users and a higher angle for proper sheet ejection from the image forming apparatus. This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by allowing the system to optimize for different operational requirements at different times.
Solution Approach 2:
A detection device monitors the sheet tray angle and provides feedback to the control unit. The control unit uses this feedback information to determine whether to prohibit ejection based on the detected angle, ensuring that sheets are only ejected when the tray is positioned at an angle that allows proper ejection, thus preventing paper jam while maintaining user convenience when needed.
2Device complexity
If the sheet tray is positioned at a lower portion, then device compactness is improved, but user accessibility deteriorates requiring users to bend down
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet tray is designed with adjustable angle capability, allowing it to be positioned at different heights and angles. When users need to remove sheets, the tray can be tilted to a more accessible angle, eliminating the need to bend down. When sheets need to be ejected, the tray returns to its lower compact position, maintaining device compactness.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet tray functionality is segmented into different operational states: a compact storage position at the lower portion and an accessible ejection position at a higher angle. This segmentation allows the system to optimize for either compactness or accessibility depending on the operational requirement.
Data Source
AI summary
The sheet processing apparatus processes a sheet having an image formed thereon by an image forming apparatus. The sheet processing apparatus includes a sheet folding unit for folding the sheet having an image formed thereon, a sheet tray loaded with the sheet folded by the sheet folding unit to be taken out, and a control unit for controlling the sheet processing apparatus as a whole. The sheet tray includes a mechanism capable of adjusting an angle with a virtual plane and a detection device detecting a change of the angle with the virtual plane. The control unit prohibits ejection from the sheet folding unit to the sheet tray, based on the detection result of the detection device and the content of the folding processing by the sheet folding unit.