Cassette Sheet Guide Pivot Support Shaft Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional tiltable end guides in sheet feed cassettes face issues with reduced assemblability and strength, leading to potential detachment during operation, and increased complexity due to flexible shaft support structures or notch holes.
Innovation Solution
A cassette design featuring a pivotable sheet guide with a pivot support shaft and bearing portion, including an insertion portion and flexible pressing portion to secure the pivot support shaft, enhancing assemblability and strength while maintaining compactness.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If a flexible shaft support portion is used for easy assembly, then ease of manufacture is improved, but reliability deteriorates as the shaft support portion may bend and cause the end guide to come off
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft support portion is divided into a rigid support body and a separate flexible pressing portion. The pressing portion can be elastically deformed during assembly to allow insertion, then returns to its original shape to provide secure holding, combining ease of assembly with reliable retention without compromising structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing portion is designed with elastic properties that allow temporary deformation during assembly. By changing the physical state (deformed vs. restored) of the pressing portion, the system transitions from an easy-to-insert state to a secure-retention state, resolving the contradiction between ease of manufacture and reliability.
2Reliability
If the shaft support portion is made rigid for strength, then reliability is improved, but ease of manufacture deteriorates due to difficulty in assembly
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into a rigid support body that provides strength and a separate flexible pressing portion that facilitates assembly. This segmentation allows each component to be optimized for its specific function without compromise.
Solution Approach 2:
The pressing portion utilizes elastic deformation as a temporary state during assembly, then transitions to a rigid holding state. This parameter change allows the system to achieve both ease of assembly and structural strength.
3Volume of moving object
If a tiltable end guide is used to reduce cassette size, then volume is reduced, but reliability deteriorates due to reduced strength of the pivot support mechanism
Solution Approach 1:
The pressing portion is designed with specific elastic properties that allow it to deform during assembly and operation. This elastic parameter enables the compact tiltable design while maintaining sufficient strength through the elastic restoring force that secures the pivot support shaft.
Solution Approach 2:
The support mechanism combines rigid and elastic materials or structures - the rigid support body provides structural strength while the elastic pressing portion provides secure retention. This composite approach enables both compact size and reliable strength in the pivot support mechanism.
Data Source
AI summary
A cassette comprises a storage portion configured to include a loading surface on which a sheet is loaded, a sheet guide configured to pivot with respect to a pivot central axis that is parallel to the loading surface, a pivot support shaft extending on two sides of the sheet guide along the pivot central axis, in the sheet guide, and a bearing portion configured to pivotably support the pivot support shaft, an insertion portion formed at a portion of the pivot support shaft, an insertion groove formed from the loading surface toward the bearing portion, and a flexible pressing portion disposed outside the insertion groove, and configured to press a leading end portion of the pivot support shaft.