Cam-Actuated Media Stack Support for Flat Edge Presentation
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional media feeders struggle to handle large stacks of folded media articles like envelopes due to uneven stack heights, leading to mis-feeds and jams, as the top media item is not presented with a sufficiently straight edge, causing inefficiencies in production printing.
Innovation Solution
A cam member and support member system that adjusts the base terrain profile to compensate for variations in stack height, using pivotable arms and a cam follower mechanism to maintain a flat leading edge presentation to the feed mechanism, even as the stack depletes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If a large stack of folded media articles is loaded into the feeder tray, then the productivity increases, but the top media item cannot be presented with a straight edge due to uneven stack height, causing mis-feeds
Solution Approach 1:
The support member includes a pivotable arm that can dynamically adjust its position to compensate for varying stack heights. As the stack depletes, the arm pivots to maintain the correct support level, ensuring the top media item always presents a flat leading edge to the feed mechanism throughout the entire feeding process
Solution Approach 2:
The cam follower mechanism converts the vertical motion of the support member into rotational motion of the pivotable arm through the cam surface. This parameter transformation allows the system to automatically adjust the support height in response to stack depletion, maintaining precision feeding capability across a larger capacity range
2Reliability
If conventional flat support is used for the media stack, then the device complexity is low, but mis-feeds and jams occur due to uneven stack height compensation
Solution Approach 1:
The cam member acts as an intermediary between the vertical motion of the support member and the rotational motion of the pivotable arm. The cam surface translates the linear displacement caused by stack depletion into the appropriate angular adjustment of the support arm, providing automatic compensation without requiring complex sensors or control systems
Solution Approach 2:
The mechanism uses the natural depletion of the media stack itself as the driving force for adjustment. As the stack height decreases, the support member moves vertically, which automatically triggers the cam follower to rotate the pivotable arm to the correct position, eliminating the need for external control signals or manual intervention
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
This solution allows for a significant increase in the number of envelopes that can be loaded and successfully fed, from approximately 30 to around 100, by ensuring the top media items are presented with a flat edge profile, enhancing the feeding efficiency and reducing mis-feeds.
Implementation Method 1
a cam member providing a cam surface; a support member including a base and a plurality of support surface members mounted on the base... at least one of the support surface members being a pivot able arm, and at least one of the support surface members being fixed relative to the base; wherein at least one pivot able arm member carries a cam follower, and the base terrain profile provided by the support surfaces is variable by virtue of the action of said cam follower cooperating with a corresponding cam surface of the cam member
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
AI summary
Apparatus for supporting a media stack in a media feeding device comprising, a cam member (1) providing at least one cam surface (22); a support member (2) including a base (4) and a plurality of support surface members (5, 6) mounted on the base (4), each support surface member (5, 6) providing at least one support surface (7, 8), the support surfaces (7, 8) in combination providing a base terrain profile for supporting a stack of media to be fed by a pick up mechanism, at least one of the support surface members (5, 6) being a pivot able arm (6), and at least one of the support surface members (5) being fixed relative to the base (4); wherein at least one pivot able arm member carries a cam follower (11), and the base terrain profile provided by the support surfaces (7, 8) is variable by virtue of the action of said cam follower cooperating with a corresponding cam surface (22) of the cam member (1) during a media feed operation.