Movable Sheet Ejection Tray for Printer Accessibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses with inner sheet ejection units have limited visibility and ease of removal for ejected sheets, especially when using the long edge feed method, as the sheet ejection tray is not easily accessible due to its design and size constraints.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus features a sheet ejection container with a movable sheet ejection tray that can shift from a home position to a position closer to the open side, allowing for improved visibility and easier removal of sheets, while maintaining a compact design and reducing noise and odor during printing.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the sheet ejection tray is disposed inside the apparatus body with one open side, then the apparatus becomes more compact, but the visibility and accessibility of ejected sheets are limited
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet ejection tray is designed to be movable between a retracted position inside the apparatus body and an extended position protruding from the open side. This dynamic configuration allows the tray to adapt between two states: when retracted, it maintains compact apparatus volume; when extended, it improves sheet visibility and accessibility for users.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the sheet ejection tray is positioned deeper inside the apparatus body, then more sheet sizes can be accommodated, but the ease of removal for users deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The movable tray design enables it to extend outward when needed, bringing sheets within easy reach of users regardless of tray depth. This resolves the contradiction by allowing the tray to be positioned deeper for versatility while maintaining ease of removal through the extension capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray's movement in the radial direction (in and out from the open side) provides an additional degree of freedom that decouples sheet accommodation capacity from accessibility. Users can access sheets easily through the extension motion without requiring the tray to be shallow.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the sheet ejection tray is made larger to accommodate various sheet sizes, then adaptability improves, but the apparatus volume increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable tray allows a single tray of moderate size to serve multiple functions by extending to accommodate larger sheets and retracting when smaller sheets are used, avoiding the need for multiple trays or an excessively large fixed tray that would increase apparatus volume.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus is provided, including an apparatus body; an image forming unit to form an image on a sheet member; and a sheet ejection container including a sheet ejection tray on which the sheet member ejected from the apparatus body is stacked. In the image forming apparatus, at least one side of the apparatus body is open and the sheet ejection container is disposed inside the apparatus body at the open side. The sheet ejection tray is configured to be movable between a first position in the sheet ejection container where the sheet member is ejected to the sheet member tray and a second position nearer to the open side than the first position.