Cover Stopper and Rotation Guide Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional conveyance devices in inkjet printers face a trade-off between locking performance and operability, where increasing the urging force for secure locking worsens the user's operating load, and the design of urging the rear cover upward to avoid conveyance load direction does not reliably prevent half-closed states during closure.
Innovation Solution
A conveyance device with a cover that rotates between closed and open positions, utilizing a rib and rotation guide engagement to restrict upward movement and ensure smooth operation, featuring a rib with a circular arc engagement surface and a spring-based urging member to facilitate easy closure and opening while preventing half-closed states.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the urging force is increased to improve locking performance, then the reliability of the closed position is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to increased operating load
Solution Approach 1:
The cover is designed to rotate dynamically between open, relay, and closed positions. The rotation guide and rib engagement create a dynamic mechanism where the cover transitions through a relay position during closure, allowing the urging member to apply force effectively while the user can still operate the cover easily by overcoming the controlled resistance during the rotation process.
Solution Approach 2:
The relay position acts as an intermediary state between the open and closed positions. During this intermediate state, the rib engages with the rotation guide to restrict upward movement, ensuring proper alignment and controlled transition. This intermediary mechanism allows the urging force to be applied progressively without requiring the user to overcome the full urging force simultaneously, resolving the contradiction between locking performance and ease of operation.
2Reliability
If the cover is urged upward to avoid conveyance load direction, then the reliability of preventing unintended opening is improved, but the ease of operation deteriorates due to difficulty in achieving full closure
Solution Approach 1:
The cover transitions dynamically through a relay position during closure. As the cover rotates from the open position, it passes through the relay position where the rib engages with the rotation guide. This dynamic transition allows the cover to overcome the upward urging force in a controlled manner during rotation, while the urging member maintains reliability by preventing unintended opening when the cover is not being actively operated.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation guide and rib engagement perform a preliminary action by restricting upward movement at the relay position. This preliminary constraint ensures proper alignment and controlled transition before the cover reaches the closed position, allowing the urging force to be effectively applied to secure the closed position without preventing the user from closing the cover when intended.
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
Improves user operability by allowing smooth movement between open and closed positions without increasing the operating load and reduces the risk of half-closed states, ensuring reliable locking and easy operation.
Implementation Method 1
an urging member configured to urge the cover from the relay position toward the closed position
Data Source
AI summary
A cover stopper engages a cover engaging portion when a cover is located at a closed position and to restrict rotational movement of the cover toward an open position. A rotation guide contacts, from above, a rib engagement surface during rotational movement of the cover and to guide rotational movement of the cover between the open position and a relay position. An urging member urges the cover from the relay position toward the closed position. When the cover rotationally moves from the open position to the relay position, a rib and the rotation guide engage each other to restrict upward movement of the cover against urging force of the urging member. When the cover reaches the relay position from the open position, the rib and the rotation guide become disengaged and the cover moves to the closed position where the cover engaging portion and the cover stopper engage each other.