Movable Abutment Member for Sheet Skew Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet transport devices in image forming apparatuses face challenges in effectively correcting sheet skew and maintaining high productivity while ensuring accurate alignment and efficient transport without stopping the sheet transport process.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of abutment members that move downstream in the sheet transport direction, allowing the leading end of the sheet to abut against them, followed by a transport unit that continues to transport the sheet further downstream, ensuring skew correction without stopping the transport process and maintaining high productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If the abutment member is stationary and the sheet is stopped for skew correction, then the sheet alignment accuracy is improved, but the productivity decreases due to transport interruption
Solution Approach 1:
The abutment member is made movable instead of stationary, allowing it to move downstream together with the sheet during transport. This dynamic configuration enables skew correction without stopping the sheet, as the abutment member adjusts its position to maintain contact with the sheet leading end while both move forward, resolving the contradiction between alignment accuracy and productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet transport process continues without interruption during skew correction. The abutment member moves synchronously with the sheet, maintaining continuous contact and correction action throughout the transport process, thereby eliminating idle time and maintaining high productivity while achieving accurate alignment
2Productivity
If the abutment member moves with the sheet during transport, then the productivity is maintained, but the complexity of the device increases
Solution Approach 1:
The abutment member is integrated with the transport belt, sharing the same support structure and movement mechanism. This merging reduces the need for separate movement mechanisms for the abutment member, as it is carried along by the belt's motion, thereby maintaining productivity while minimizing the increase in device complexity
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the abutment member separates from the sheet after transport starts, then the sheet damage risk is reduced, but the skew correction effectiveness may be compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The abutment member is designed to separate from the sheet leading end after the transport unit has started moving the sheet. This timing ensures that the sheet has already been firmly engaged by the transport unit, so separation occurs safely without compromising skew correction effectiveness while reducing the risk of damage from continuous contact during the entire transport process
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet transport device includes an abutment member that moves downstream in a sheet transport direction and against which a leading end of a sheet that has been transported from upstream in the sheet transport direction abuts; and a transport unit that transports the sheet whose leading end has abutted against the abutment member further downstream. The abutment member moves at least to the transport unit in a state in which the leading end of the sheet abuts against the abutment member, and the abutment member is separated from the leading end of the sheet after the transport unit has started to transport the sheet.