Sheet Discharging Mechanism with Holder-Integrated Retraction Sensing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet discharging devices are prone to breakage due to the risk of the sensing portion breaking when the protruding member moves, as the sensing portion is often in direct contact with surrounding components.
Innovation Solution
The sensing portion is integrated into the supporting holder, preventing it from touching other components during the movement of the protruding member, thereby reducing the risk of breakage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the sensing portion is disposed separately from the supporting holder, then the sensing portion can sense the retraction position of the protruding member, but the sensing portion is prone to breakage by touching surrounding components during movement
Solution Approach 1:
The sensing portion is integrated into the supporting holder as a unified structure. The holder serves dual functions: mechanically supporting the protruding member and housing the sensing portion. This merging eliminates the need for separate mounting structures and reduces the number of discrete components, thereby improving reliability without significantly increasing complexity.
2Reliability
If the sensing portion is integrated into the supporting holder, then the risk of breakage is reduced, but the holder structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The supporting holder is designed to perform multiple functions simultaneously: it provides mechanical support for the protruding member's reciprocating motion, houses the sensing portion, and positions the sensing portion to detect the retraction state. This multi-functionality reduces the need for additional separate components, thereby improving reliability while maintaining reasonable structural complexity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A protruding member (13) is supported so as to be reciprocatable between a protrusion position and a retraction position. The protrusion position is where the protruding member (13) protrudes from a discharge port (2) to above a stacking tray (11) and brings, into contact with its top surface, the leading edge of a sheet discharged by a pair of discharging rollers (73) to guide it in the discharging direction. The retraction position is where the protruding member (13) is retracted from above the stacking tray. A moving mechanism (26) has a supporting holder movably holding the protruding member (13) and makes the held protruding member (13) move between the protrusion position and the retraction position. A sensing portion sensing whether the protruding member (13) is in the retraction position is disposed in the supporting holder.