Movable Conveyance Guide for Easier Printer Jam Removal
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses face difficulty in jam removal due to the conveyance guide blocking the open part of the apparatus body, making it hard to reach and clear jams with fingers.
Innovation Solution
The conveyance guide is designed to be movable up and down, featuring a tray body portion and a handle portion that can be pivoted, allowing easier access and removal of jams by pulling out the first sheet stacking portion.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the conveyance guide is lowered to block the open part of the apparatus body, then sheet conveyance is ensured, but jam removal becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyance guide is designed with dynamic positioning capability, allowing it to move between a lowered position (for normal sheet conveyance) and a raised position (for jam removal). This dynamic adjustment resolves the contradiction by enabling the system to adapt its structure based on operational requirements.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyance guide is configured to move in the vertical dimension (up and down movement) to resolve the horizontal blocking issue. By changing the position in the vertical dimension, the guide can either block the open part for conveyance or clear it for jam removal, effectively using dimensional change to resolve the contradiction.
2Device complexity
If the conveyance guide is fixed in position, then structure is simple, but access to the apparatus body is blocked
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyance guide transitions from a fixed structure to a movable one, allowing vertical adjustment. This dynamic capability enables the guide to clear the open part when needed for access, while maintaining adequate structure for normal operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyance guide is extracted from the fixed apparatus body structure and made independently movable. This extraction allows the guide to be positioned separately from the apparatus body opening, enabling access when raised while maintaining conveyance function when lowered.
3Ease of operation
If the conveyance guide is movable up and down, then jam removal is facilitated, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The conveyance guide incorporates a handle portion that allows users to manually raise and lower the guide themselves. This self-service design eliminates the need for complex motorized or automated mechanisms, achieving the desired functionality with minimal added complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The handle portion acts as an intermediary between the user and the conveyance guide mechanism. This simple intermediary component enables easy manual operation of the movable guide without requiring complex control systems or mechanisms.
Data Source
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AI summary
An image forming apparatus (100) includes a first sheet stacking portion (16), a second sheet stacking portion (26), an image forming portion (Pa), and a sheet feeding portion (25). A bottom part of a feeding passage (39) connecting between the second sheet stacking portion and the sheet feeding portion is configured with a conveyance guide (50) movable up and down. The conveyance guide includes a tray body portion (51) in the shape of a flat plate and a handle portion (52). With the first sheet stacking portion mounted in the apparatus body, the tray body portion is held on the apparatus body above the first sheet stacking portion. The handle portion protrudes from an upstream end part of the tray body portion in the sheet conveyance direction and is pivotable in the up-down direction.