Movable Conveying Unit for Sheet Slack and Skew Correction
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional printing medium conveying devices face challenges in ensuring sufficient space for feeding and correcting the direction of sheets of varying lengths, particularly with rigid and thick sheets, due to limited roller separation, which hinders the conveyance of sheets with different dimensions.
Innovation Solution
A printing medium conveying device with a movable second conveying unit that can be positioned outside the conveying path to create additional slack, allowing for the correction of sheet direction, and a detachable unit that can be manually or automatically adjusted based on sheet size, enabling the conveyance of both short-sized and rigid thick sheets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the rollers are arranged with a short distance interposed therebetween, then the conveying roller cannot feed a rigid thick sheet excessively, but the separation distance is too short to ensure a space to form sufficient slack on the sheet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies the dynamics principle by making the second conveying unit movable rather than fixed. The second conveying unit can be moved to outside the conveying path, dynamically adjusting the separation distance between conveying units. This allows the system to adapt to different sheet types (rigid thick sheets requiring larger separation) while maintaining compact structure when processing standard sheets, thus resolving the contradiction between sufficient slack formation space and compact roller arrangement.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a mechanism is provided to separate a pair of rollers in the vertical direction, then the sheet does not contact with the separated rollers, but the separation distance is too short to ensure a space to form sufficient slack on the sheet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent resolves this contradiction by transitioning from vertical separation (one-dimensional) to multi-dimensional movement. The second conveying unit can be moved not only vertically but also horizontally to outside the conveying path, utilizing additional spatial dimensions. This creates sufficient slack formation space for various sheet types including rigid thick sheets and short-sized sheets, while maintaining adaptability through the movable structure.
3Manufacturing precision
If sufficient distances and spaces are ensured between the rollers for skew correction, then the leading edge of the sheet can be abutted to the guiding member, but larger distances between the rollers are needed for more rigid and thicker sheets
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by designing the second conveying unit as a movable component that serves multiple functions: it acts as a conveying unit during normal operation and can be moved to outside the conveying path to create slack formation space when needed. This single movable unit replaces the need for complex fixed arrangements of multiple rollers at different positions, simplifying the device structure while maintaining the capability to handle various sheet types with different skew correction requirements.
Data Source
AI summary
The present device includes a conveying path, a contact member coming in contact with the front of a printing medium to stop the conveyance of the medium, a hold member holding the front of the medium having contacted with the contact member, a first conveying unit conveying the medium so as to abut the contact member to form slack on the medium between itself and the hold member holding the medium, and a second conveying unit being provided nearer to the hold member than the first conveying unit in the conveying direction and conveying the medium so as to abut the contact member to form the slack. The second conveying unit is movable so that a part thereof existing on the side where the slack is formed on the medium in the conveying path is moved to the outside of the conveying path.