Image Reading Device Movable Guide Portion for Variable Media
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image reading devices face challenges in conveying media with varying rigidity, leading to wrinkles and unstable conveyance, especially with thin papers and thick documents like booklets, due to inadequate guidance and increased conveying resistance.
Innovation Solution
An image reading device with an opening/closing cover that includes a guide portion longer than the first roller, displacing between positions to advance or retract from the conveyance path based on medium rigidity, and an elastic member to apply force for displacement, ensuring stable conveyance and reduced back tension.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a fixed guide portion is used in the conveyance path, then the structure is simple, but conveyance stability deteriorates when handling media with varying rigidity
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portion is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position between advanced and retracted states based on the rigidity of the medium being conveyed. This dynamic adjustment enables the same structure to adapt to different medium types (thin paper vs. thick booklets) without requiring multiple fixed guide configurations.
2Reliability
If the guide portion is always advanced in the conveyance path, then guidance is maximized for thin media, but conveying resistance increases for thick media
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portion dynamically adjusts its position based on medium rigidity: advanced position for thin media to provide maximum guidance and prevent wrinkles, retracted position for thick media to reduce conveying resistance. This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction between needing guidance and avoiding excessive resistance.
3Force
If the guide portion is always retracted from the conveyance path, then conveying resistance is reduced for thick media, but conveyance accuracy deteriorates for thin media
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portion is positioned in the advanced state when conveying thin, low-rigidity media to ensure accurate guidance and prevent wrinkles, then retracted when conveying thick, high-rigidity media to minimize conveying resistance. This dynamic adjustment maintains both conveyance accuracy and low resistance across different medium types.
4Stability of the object's composition
If a rigid guide structure is used, then structural stability is high, but adaptability to different medium rigidities is poor
Solution Approach 1:
The guide portion is designed as a movable component that can shift between advanced and retracted positions while maintaining structural stability in each position. This dynamic capability allows the stable guide structure to adapt to different medium rigidities, combining structural stability with operational versatility.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enhances conveyance accuracy, reduces wrinkles, and stabilizes the conveyance of both low-rigidity and high-rigidity media by adjusting the guide portion's position, thereby improving the overall conveyance efficiency and reducing resistance.
Implementation Method 1
an elastic member configured to apply a force to the opening/closing cover in a direction from the closed state to the open state
Data Source
AI summary
An image reading device includes an opening/closing cover configured to open and close, a first roller that can convey a medium, a reading unit reads an image of the medium, and an elastic member that applies a force to the opening/closing cover in a direction of the closed state or the open state, where the opening/closing cover includes a guide portion that is longer than a length of the first roller in a width direction intersecting a conveying direction, in the closed state, the guide portion is displaceable to a first position of advancing to a conveyance path and a second position of retreating, and is applied with an elastic force so as to take the first position when the first medium is conveyed and take the second position when a second medium having higher rigidity than the first medium is conveyed.