Movable Document Guide Plate for Automatic Feeder Height Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing automatic document feeders face issues with maintaining a stable document feeding mechanism due to variations in surface contact with the contact glass, leading to potential document collisions or damage to the guide plate and apparatus body, especially when the housing is not at its normal height level.
Innovation Solution
An automatic document feeder with a document leading mechanism featuring a movable member having an inclined surface that extends obliquely downward, maintaining the distal edge at a constant height level relative to the document read surface, and an up/down movement permitting member to prevent horizontal movement and ensure reliable document feeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the guide plate is fixed to the housing, then the structure is simple, but the document leading mechanism cannot adapt to variations in surface contact height, causing document collisions or damage
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate is changed from a fixed structure to a movable structure that can adjust its position vertically. The guide plate is supported by movable support means allowing it to move in the vertical direction, enabling adaptation to different surface contact heights while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure.
2Reliability
If the housing is not at normal height level, then the document leading mechanism may collide with the apparatus body, but making the mechanism adjustable increases complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The document leading mechanism is designed to automatically adjust its position based on the actual surface contact height. The movable guide plate and support means enable the system to self-adapt to height variations without requiring external intervention or complex control systems.
3Ease of operation
If the guide plate is positioned to guide documents reliably, then document feeding is stable, but the guide plate may collide with the apparatus body when the housing is lowered
Solution Approach 1:
The guide plate is designed to be movable rather than fixed, allowing it to adjust its vertical position. This enables the guide plate to maintain proper clearance from the apparatus body even when the housing is lowered, preventing collisions while ensuring reliable document guidance.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable support means are designed to accommodate height variations in advance, providing a buffer against potential collisions between the guide plate and the apparatus body when the housing is not at its normal height level.
Data Source
AI summary
Disclosed is an automatic document feeder for feeding a document to a document read surface. The document feeder has a first carrying mechanism for feeding a document toward the document read surface, a document leading mechanism for leading the document after passing above the document read surface, a second carrying mechanism for carrying the document led by the document leading mechanism, in a downstream direction, and a housing equipped with the first carrying mechanism, the document leading mechanism and the second carrying mechanism. The housing can be opened and closed relative to the document read surface. The document leading mechanism includes a movable member having an inclined surface that extends obliquely downward to direct a distal edge thereof toward the document read surface. The movable member can maintain the distal edge of the inclined surface at a substantially constant height relative to the document read surface.