Flexible Guide Plate with Recessed Support Frame for Sheet Flopping

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Solution Overview

Problem

In transfer devices with guide plates, the rear end of a recording medium tends to flop when it comes off the guide plate, leading to poor developer transfer and image quality deterioration due to lack of support.

Innovation Solution

A transfer device with a flexible guide plate and a support frame, where the guide plate is angled and supported by an extension portion with a recess or hole, preventing the rear end from flopping by maintaining contact with the supporting surface and reducing noise.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Strength

If the guide plate's rear end is bent down to increase rigidity, then vibrations and noises are suppressed, but the rear end of the recording medium flops due to lack of support

Engineering Contradiction:

Improverigidity of guide plateVSAvoidflopping of sheet rear end

Core Design Contradiction:

StrengthVSObject-affected harmful factors

Solution Approach 1:

The guide plate is divided into functional segments: the main body provides rigidity and noise suppression, while the bent rear end portion serves a different function by guiding and supporting the recording medium. The support frame is segmented to provide targeted support at the critical location where the sheet rear end passes, without interfering with the guide plate's bending motion.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #1Segmentation

Solution Approach 2:

The support frame acts as an intermediary element between the guide plate and the recording medium. It provides a supporting surface that prevents the sheet rear end from flopping while allowing the guide plate to maintain its bent configuration for rigidity. The support frame mediates the interaction, ensuring both rigidity benefits and sheet support are achieved simultaneously.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #24Intermediary (Mediator)

2Adaptability or versatility

If the guide plate is made flexible to allow bending, then the structure can adapt to sheet conveyance, but the rear end lacks support causing poor developer transfer

Engineering Contradiction:

Improveflexibility of guide plateVSAvoidquality of image transfer

Core Design Contradiction:

Adaptability or versatilityVSManufacturing precision

Solution Approach 1:

Different parts of the guide plate system have different properties: the main guide plate body is flexible to allow bending and adaptation to sheet motion, while the support frame provides localized rigid support at the specific location where the sheet rear end passes. This local quality differentiation ensures both flexibility for adaptation and precision for image transfer.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #3Local quality

Solution Approach 2:

The support frame extends in a direction downstream of the medium conveyance path, creating a new spatial dimension for support. This extension allows the bent guide plate to maintain its flexibility while the support frame provides the necessary constraint in a different dimensional direction, preventing sheet flopping without compromising the guide plate's adaptability.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #17Another dimension (Dimensionality change)

3Object-affected harmful factors

If the support frame extends downstream to support the guide plate, then sheet flopping is prevented, but the extension portion may block the guide plate's movement

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvesheet flopping preventionVSAvoidstructure of support frame

Core Design Contradiction:

Object-affected harmful factorsVSDevice complexity

Solution Approach 1:

The recess or hole in the support frame creates a nested structure where the guide plate can move within the space defined by the support frame. The recess accommodates the bent guide plate portion, allowing it to move freely while the support frame maintains its extending structure for sheet support. This nesting resolves the potential blocking issue.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #7Nested doll (Nesting)

Solution Approach 2:

The support frame's extension portion is designed with a recess or hole that extracts or removes the potential blocking element. By creating this opening, the design allows the guide plate to move past the support frame without interference, while the support frame maintains its function of preventing sheet flopping through its overall extending structure.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #2Taking out (Extraction)

Data Source

PatentUS8942596B2Transfer device

Publication Date: 2015.01.27 BROTHER KOGYO KK

AI summary

In a transfer device, a flexible guide plate is disposed in a position upstream relative to a transfer position along a medium conveyance path, such that a first side of the guide plate faces to a recording medium being conveyed along the medium conveyance path. The guide plate has a downstream end portion that is angled by bending the guide plate. A support frame supports an upstream end portion of the guide plate and extends in a downstream direction beyond the downstream end portion to form an extension portion which is disposed opposite to a second side of the guide plate and toward which the downstream end portion extends obliquely downstream. The extension portion has a recess/hole formed in a position separated in an upstream direction from a first edge of the extension portion, to allow the downstream end portion to be moved without being blocked by the extension portion.