Medium Conveyance Roller Layout for Thin-Sheet Wrinkle Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional medium conveyance devices experience paper wrinkles in thin sheets due to varying conveyance speeds and conveyance capacity differences among pairs of rollers, leading to inefficiencies and increased size and cost when mechanisms are introduced to address these issues.
Innovation Solution
The medium conveyance device employs multiple pairs of conveyance rollers spaced apart in the medium's widthwise direction, with the center rollers having higher conveyance speeds and increased pressure contact forces compared to end rollers, ensuring uniform conveyance and minimizing wrinkles.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple pairs of conveyance rollers are used with uniform conveyance speed, then the device structure is simple, but wrinkles occur in thin sheets due to speed variation
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by setting different conveyance speeds for different regions of the medium. Specifically, the conveyance speed at the widthwise center is made higher than at the widthwise ends, creating a velocity distribution that compensates for the natural tendency of thin sheets to wrinkle. This localized speed adjustment prevents wrinkles without requiring complex additional mechanisms throughout the entire system.
2Productivity
If conveyance rollers are spaced apart in widthwise direction, then conveyance capacity is improved, but speed variation between center and ends causes wrinkles
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the speed parameter across the width of the medium to resolve the contradiction. By making the conveyance speed at the center higher than at the ends, the system maintains the benefits of spaced rollers for conveyance capacity while eliminating the speed variation that causes wrinkles. This parameter adjustment transforms a potentially harmful effect into a beneficial one.
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
This configuration effectively prevents wrinkles in thin sheets while maintaining the ability to convey both thin and thick sheets without the need for additional mechanisms, reducing size and cost increases.
Implementation Method 1
multiple pairs of conveyance rollers configured to convey a medium with the medium held between each pair of conveyance rollers
Data Source
AI summary
A medium conveyance device includes multiple pairs of conveyance rollers configured to convey a medium of which a leading end position has been subjected to registration, the multiple pairs of conveyance rollers being spaced away from each other in a medium widthwise direction intersecting with a medium conveying direction to convey the medium with the medium held between each pair of conveyance rollers, in which the multiple pairs of conveyance rollers are set such that a speed at conveyance of a widthwise center of the medium is higher than a speed at conveyance of a widthwise end of the medium.