Alternating Inclined Support Units for Jam-Free Media Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing medium placement devices that do not use electric power struggle with efficiently stacking various types of media, often resulting in jamming due to the medium's surface properties or size.
Innovation Solution
A medium placement device with a configuration of support units that are inclined downward in the gravitational direction from upstream to downstream, and alternating first and second support units, allowing media to be stacked without electric power by utilizing gravitational force.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the tray is inclined upward as approaching downstream in the discharge direction, then the medium can be prevented from falling off the tray, but when a medium that is less slippery on the tray is used, the medium is caught by the tray and is jammed
Solution Approach 1:
The support surface is divided into multiple support units arranged in the width direction, with each support unit having a different height. This segmentation creates a stepped structure that prevents medium jamming while maintaining reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The support units are configured with asymmetric heights where the second support unit is arranged at a lower position than the first support unit in the gravitational direction. This asymmetric arrangement allows the medium to smoothly transition without being caught, resolving the contradiction between preventing falls and avoiding jams.
2Productivity
If media are successively placed on the tray, then the stacking capacity is increased, but a leading edge of a media moving to be newly placed thereon abuts against a placed medium that is stacked below, is caught, and pushes out the placed medium
Solution Approach 1:
The support units are pre-configured with different heights to create a stepped structure before media are placed. This preliminary arrangement ensures that successively placed media can slide smoothly without abutting against and pushing out previously stacked media, maintaining both productivity and stability.
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 device efficiently stacks various types of media by preventing leading edges from hanging down or being caught, reducing frictional forces, and ensuring media can be moved effectively through the use of gravitational force.
Implementation Method 1
a medium placement device that stacks a medium without using electric power or the like... stacks a plurality of sheets of a medium discharged from a discharge unit... inclined downward in a gravitational direction from upstream to downstream in the discharge direction
Data Source
AI summary
A medium placement device configured to stack a plurality of sheets of a medium discharged from a discharge unit of a processing device, the medium placement device including a plurality of support units being provided in a width direction intersecting with a discharge direction of the medium, and being configured to support, on a support surface from below in a gravitational direction, the medium discharged from the discharge unit. The plurality of support units are provided extending in the discharge direction, and are inclined downward in a gravitational direction from upstream to downstream in the discharge direction, and a first support unit and a second support unit arranged at a lower position in the gravitational direction with respect to the first support unit as viewed in the width direction, the first support unit and the second support unit being arranged alternatingly in the width direction.