Elevating Delivery Roller Sheet Supply Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet supply devices are limited in the number of sheets they can handle due to the need for a delivery roller to be suspended by its own weight, which restricts the height of the sheet supply tray, forcing a trade-off between reducing device size or increasing the number of sheets handled, both of which are suboptimal.
Innovation Solution
A sheet supply device with a freely elevatable and lowerable delivery roller and elevating tray, controlled by independent drive sections and a top surface detection system, allowing the delivery roller to retreat and align sheets without increasing the tray's depth, enabling more sheets to be loaded.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If the delivery roller is suspended by its own weight to a position lower than the delivery position, then the device structure is simple, but the number of sheets that can be loaded on the sheet supply tray is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery roller is made movable in the vertical direction through a drive section, transforming it from a fixed suspended structure to a dynamic adjustable component. This allows the delivery roller to be positioned at different heights: lower than the delivery position during sheet loading (increasing capacity) and at the delivery position during sheet feeding (maintaining function), thereby resolving the contradiction between sheet capacity and structural simplicity
Solution Approach 2:
The drive section positions the delivery roller in advance to a position lower than the delivery position before sheets are loaded onto the tray. This preliminary positioning action creates additional space for loading more sheets without interfering with the loading process, and subsequently moves the roller to the delivery position when needed, thus increasing sheet capacity without compromising device function
2Quantity of substance
If the depth of the sheet supply tray is increased to accommodate more sheets, then the number of sheets to be handled increases, but the height direction dimension of the sheet supply device increases
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of increasing the static depth of the sheet supply tray, the invention uses a dynamic delivery roller that can be positioned lower than the delivery position. This dynamic adjustment effectively increases the usable depth of the tray without physically extending the tray structure, allowing more sheets to be loaded while maintaining a compact device height
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the vertical position parameter of the delivery roller dynamically. By adjusting the roller's position from a fixed suspended state to a variable position (lower than delivery position during loading, at delivery position during feeding), it effectively increases the sheet capacity without increasing the physical dimensions of the tray or device
3Quantity of substance
If the delivery roller is positioned lower to increase sheet capacity, then more sheets can be loaded, but the delivery roller cannot contact the topmost surface of the sheet bundle to deliver sheets
Solution Approach 1:
The delivery roller is designed to dynamically change its vertical position based on the operational phase: positioned lower than the delivery position during sheet loading to increase capacity, and moved to the delivery position during sheet feeding to ensure proper contact with the sheet bundle. This dynamic positioning ensures both increased sheet capacity and reliable sheet delivery function without compromise
Solution Approach 2:
The controller monitors the operational state and controls the drive section to adjust the delivery roller's position accordingly. When sheet feeding is required, the controller activates the drive section to move the delivery roller to the correct position where it can contact the topmost surface of the sheet bundle, ensuring reliable delivery while maintaining the ability to load more sheets when positioned lower
Data Source
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AI summary
Provided is a sheet supply device capable of increasing the number of sheets to be loaded on a sheet supply tray without increasing a depth of the sheet supply tray. A sheet supply device provided with a sheet supply tray 10 on which a sheet is placed, a delivery roller 13 that contacts a topmost surface of a sheet bundle on the sheet supply tray 10 to deliver the sheet, and separation means 14 and 15 that feed the sheet delivered by the delivery roller 13 one by one in a separated manner includes an elevating tray 41 configured to be freely elevated/lowered so as to support a leading end side of the sheet bundle placed on the sheet supply tray and to move the topmost surface of the sheet bundle to a delivery position, a first drive section that elevates/lowers the elevating tray 41, a second drive section that elevates/lowers the delivery roller 13, and a controller that controls drive of the first and second drive sections, wherein the controller controls the first and second drive sections so as to elevate the elevating tray 41 until the topmost surface of the sheet bundle reaches the delivery position and thereafter lower the delivery roller 13 to a position where it contacts the topmost surface of the sheet bundle.