Dynamic Feed Roller Velocity Control for Sheet Feeding Noise Reduction
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet feeding apparatuses generate significant collision sounds when feeding sheets, especially when few sheets are loaded, due to reduced dampening effect, making them less usable in terms of noise reduction.
Innovation Solution
A sheet feeding apparatus with a rotating member supported by a biasing member and a cam mechanism that controls the feed roller's movement, allowing it to adjust its abutment velocity based on the number of sheets loaded, ensuring a slower approach when fewer sheets are present to minimize noise.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the feed roller moves at a constant velocity to feed the sheet, then the sheet feeding efficiency is maintained, but the collision sound increases when few sheets are loaded
Solution Approach 1:
The feed roller's moving velocity is made dynamic rather than constant. The control unit adjusts the velocity based on the detected number of loaded sheets, creating a time-varying velocity profile that is slow during approach and fast during actual feeding, thereby resolving the contradiction between efficiency and noise reduction
Solution Approach 2:
The velocity parameter of the feed roller is changed based on the sheet load condition. When few sheets are loaded, the approach velocity is reduced to minimize collision sound, while the feeding velocity is maintained or increased to preserve productivity. This parameter adaptation resolves the contradiction by making the system responsive to loading conditions
2Speed
If the feed roller approaches the sheet quickly to improve feeding speed, then productivity increases, but the collision sound becomes louder especially when few sheets are loaded
Solution Approach 1:
The feed roller motion is divided into distinct periodic phases: a slow approach phase and a fast feeding phase. This periodic action pattern allows the system to achieve high speeds when needed while minimizing noise during the approach phase, particularly when few sheets are loaded
Solution Approach 2:
The feed roller performs a preliminary slow approach to the sheet before the actual high-speed feeding action. This preliminary action at reduced velocity minimizes collision sound generation, especially when few sheets are loaded, while the subsequent fast feeding phase maintains productivity
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 apparatus effectively reduces collision noise across varying sheet loads by optimizing the feed roller's velocity, enhancing usability and reducing noise even when fewer sheets are loaded.
Implementation Method 1
a biasing member that applies a force to the rotating member in a direction in which the feed roller is oriented from the standby position toward the abutment position
Implementation Method 2
a cam member that moves the rotating member between the abutment position and the standby position, wherein the cam member controls the rotation of the rotating member by abutting the rotating member so as to move the rotating member against the biasing force of the biasing member
Data Source
AI summary
The rotation of a lifting and lowering plate 56 is controlled such that, in a case where the height of the sheet loaded in a manual feed tray 50 is maximum, a feed roller 51 abuts the sheet at a first abutment position at a first moving velocity slower than a second moving velocity at a position upstream in the movement direction of the feed roller 51 from the first abutment position, and, in a case where the height of the sheet loaded in the manual feed tray 50 is minimum, the feed roller 51 abuts the sheet at a second abutment position at a third moving velocity slower than the first moving velocity at the first abutment position.