Front Cover Striped Texture for Image Output Tray Recognition
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Solution Overview
Problem
Internal output type image forming apparatuses face difficulties in user accessibility due to the structural challenge of recognizing sheet output locations, particularly for wide variety of users, including those with visual impairments, as the front cover section appears as a flat surface, making it hard to distinguish paper cassette handles and sheet output portions.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus features a front cover section with a striped portion having ridges and furrows and a flat portion adjacent to the sheet output tray, along with slant surfaces, to create visual contrast and facilitate recognition of the sheet output and paper cassette locations, enhancing accessibility and operability.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the front cover section is configured as a flat plane to maintain a simple and compact structure, then the structural complexity is reduced, but the user cannot easily recognize the location of handles and sheet output portions
Solution Approach 1:
The front cover section incorporates protruding portions at specific locations (handle areas and sheet output portion areas) that protrude from the otherwise flat front surface. This local modification creates tactile and visual differentiation without fundamentally changing the simple flat structure, allowing users to easily locate handles and output portions while maintaining overall structural simplicity.
2Volume of moving object
If the sheet output portion is located internally between the image reading block and main apparatus body, then the apparatus achieves a compact internal output design, but users have difficulty accessing and recognizing the sheet output location
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet output portion is designed to protrude forward from the front cover section, creating a three-dimensional extension that makes the internally located output tray accessible and visible to users. This dimensional extension allows the output portion to be located internally for compactness while still providing easy user access.
3Ease of operation
If handles of paper cassettes are positioned on the front side for easy access, then paper replenishment becomes convenient, but the handles become indistinguishable on the flat front surface
Solution Approach 1:
Protruding portions are provided at the handle locations on the front cover section, creating local tactile and visual features that make the handles distinguishable on the flat front surface. This allows users to easily locate and grip the handles for paper cassette operations while maintaining the simple flat front cover structure.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a main apparatus body, an image reading block located above the main apparatus body, a sheet output portion provided with a sheet output tray onto which each sheet is ejected upon completion of image forming operation, the sheet output portion being located between the main apparatus body and the image reading block and opening at least frontward to permit retrieval of sheets from the sheet output tray, and a front cover section provided on a front side of the main apparatus body, the front cover section including front openable covering members. The front cover section has a striped portion having a surface in which ridges and furrows are formed and a flat portion having a flat surface. The flat portion includes a first flat portion located in an area adjacent to the sheet output tray.