Rotatable Extension Tray Rotation Regulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatus components, such as extension trays, can be damaged during transportation due to unexpected rotation caused by vibrations, and using adhesive tapes or cushioning materials to prevent this increases costs.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a rotatable extension member and an upper device that regulates its rotation, ensuring the extension member remains in a stable position during transportation by adjusting the positional relationship between the extension tray and the operation panel or image reading apparatus.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If adhesive tape or cushioning material is used to regulate rotation of the extension member, then the extension member is protected from damage during transportation, but the cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The operation panel serves as an intermediary component that indirectly regulates the rotation of the extension member. When the extension member rotates unexpectedly during transportation, it contacts the operation panel, which acts as a mediator to limit and regulate this rotation, thereby preventing damage without requiring additional protective materials like adhesive tape or cushioning.
Solution Approach 2:
The operation panel performs a dual function: it serves its primary purpose for user operations while simultaneously acting as a protective constraint for the extension member during transportation. This self-service approach eliminates the need for separate protective components, reducing manufacturing costs while maintaining protection reliability.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the extension member is made rotatable to handle large sheets, then the functionality is improved, but the risk of unexpected rotation and damage during transportation increases
Solution Approach 1:
The operation panel is positioned in advance to preemptively counteract unexpected rotation of the extension member during transportation. The structural arrangement ensures that when vibration or external forces cause the extension member to rotate, the operation panel is already in position to contact and regulate this rotation, preventing damage before it occurs.
Solution Approach 2:
The solution addresses the rotation problem not by restricting the extension member's rotatability in its primary function, but by adding a spatial constraint in another dimension. The operation panel creates a physical boundary in the rotational path, allowing the extension member to rotate within controlled limits while preventing excessive rotation that could cause damage during transportation.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes an apparatus body, a sheet stacking portion on which a sheet discharged from the apparatus body is to be stacked, an extension member, and an upper device. The extension member is rotatable about a rotating fulcrum between a first position at which the extension member is stored in the sheet stacking portion and a second position at which the extension member extends to downstream of the sheet stacking portion in a sheet discharge direction in which the sheet is discharged from the apparatus body. The upper device is disposed above the rotating fulcrum of the extension member and is supported to be openable by the apparatus body. The upper device in a closed state regulates a rotation of the extension member from the first position toward the second position.