Lifting Plate Sheet Feeding Control to Prevent Multiple Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet feeding devices in image forming apparatuses face challenges in efficiently separating and conveying sheets, particularly in preventing multiple feeding and ensuring accurate detection of sheet presence, which can lead to errors and inefficiencies.
Innovation Solution
A sheet feeding device with a lifting plate that swings between a feeding position and a retracted position, controlled by a swing driving mechanism and a sheet detection system, ensures accurate sheet detection and prevents multiple feeding by adjusting its position based on detection changes during and after a feeding job.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the lifting plate remains in the feeding position after a feeding job ends, then sheets remain readily accessible for quick feeding, but multiple sheets may be accidentally fed simultaneously reducing reliability
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting plate transitions from a static position to a dynamic system that can swing between feeding position and retracted position. This dynamic adjustment allows the plate to be in the feeding position during sheet feeding operations for quick access, then automatically retract to prevent multiple sheets from being fed simultaneously, thus resolving the contradiction between productivity and reliability
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet detection portion provides feedback signals to the control portion about sheet presence on the lifting plate. When no sheet is detected after a feeding job, the control portion triggers the lifting plate to retract. This feedback mechanism ensures that the lifting plate position is automatically adjusted based on actual sheet conditions, preventing multiple sheet feeding while maintaining readiness for efficient operation
2Ease of operation
If the lifting plate is constantly in the feeding position, then sheet access is maximized, but the risk of detection errors and multiple feeding increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting plate is designed to dynamically switch between feeding position (for ease of operation) and retracted position (for detection accuracy). After a feeding job completes, the plate automatically retracts, creating a clear separation between the sheet feeding area and the detection area, thereby eliminating detection errors caused by sheets remaining on the plate
3Reliability
If the lifting plate retracts immediately after feeding, then multiple feeding is prevented, but sheet accessibility is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting plate follows a periodic action pattern: it stays in the feeding position during active sheet feeding operations to enable quick access, then automatically retracts after the job ends. This periodic switching between positions ensures that multiple feeding is prevented while maintaining high productivity during actual feeding operations
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet feeding device includes a sheet storage portion, a lifting plate, a swing driving portion, a feeding portion, a sheet detection portion, and a control portion. The control portion arranges the lifting plate in a feeding position when a feeding job for the sheet starts, and arranges the lifting plate in a retracted position when the feeding job ends. At the end of the feeding job, while the lifting plate is moving from the feeding position to the retracted position, if the detection state of the sheet detection portion changes from a sheet-present state to a no-sheet state, the control portion rearranges the lifting plate in the feeding position.