Document Feeding Support Member Curvature
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image reading apparatuses face issues with feeding documents that are small in thickness and low in rigidity, as they tend to buckle or sag, leading to failed feeding due to the lack of effective support mechanisms.
Innovation Solution
A medium feeding device with a supporting member that elevates the ends of the document in the width direction, forming a curled shape to enhance rigidity and prevent buckling, and includes edge guides and holding sections to regulate and press the document for proper alignment during feeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a document is small in thickness and low in rigidity, then it is easier to handle and feed, but the document may buckle or sag diagonally downward, leading to failed feeding
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting member provides localized support at the end of the document in the width direction, creating a curled shape that enhances rigidity precisely where needed. This local intervention prevents buckling and sagging without requiring support across the entire document surface, thus maintaining ease of feeding while improving stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The supporting member forms a curled shape (curvature) at the end of the document, which inherently increases structural rigidity. This curvature prevents the document from buckling or sagging diagonally downward, resolving the stability issue while maintaining the feeding mechanism's simplicity.
2Reliability
If a retaining member is used to prevent flopping of the document, then flopping is controlled, but buckling and sagging of low-rigidity documents cannot be controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting member targets the specific problem of buckling and sagging by providing localized support at the document end, rather than using a general retaining member. This localized approach effectively handles low-rigidity documents while maintaining compatibility with various document types, thus improving both reliability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
By forming a curled shape at the document end, the supporting member creates structural rigidity that prevents buckling and sagging. This curvature-based solution is universally applicable to different document types, enhancing adaptability while ensuring reliable feeding.
3Strength
If the document is supported at a higher position than the medium mounting section, then the document forms a curled shape that enhances rigidity, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting member provides rigidity enhancement at a specific location (the end of the document in the width direction) rather than requiring comprehensive support structures. This localized approach increases document rigidity through curled shape formation while minimizing the overall complexity of the supporting structure.
Data Source
AI summary
A medium feeding device includes: a medium mounting section onto which a medium to be fed is mounted; a feeding unit that feeds the medium mounted on the medium mounting section; and a supporting member that supports an end in a width direction of the medium mounted on the medium mounting section and that supports the medium at a higher position than the medium mounting section in a direction of loading of the medium, the width direction being a direction crossing a feed direction.