Multistage Tray Cover Displacement Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet safekeeping apparatuses for image processing systems become overly complex due to the need for separate driving sources to open and close removal ports in multiple sheet discharge trays, complicating their configuration.
Innovation Solution
A sheet safekeeping apparatus with a multistage tray system featuring a cover displacement unit that opens and closes removal ports for each housing section using a shared conveyance motor, reducing the need for individual driving sources and simplifying the configuration.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a plurality of sheet discharge trays is used as job separators, then sheet confidentiality and sorting capability are improved, but the configuration becomes complicated due to the need for separate driving sources for each tray
Solution Approach 1:
The patent merges multiple driving sources into a single shared driving source that controls the opening and closing of removal ports across multiple housing sections. The conveyance unit and cover displacement unit work together as an integrated system, where the conveyance motor drives both sheet conveyance and cover displacement through coordinated operation, eliminating the need for separate motors in each housing section.
Solution Approach 2:
The conveyance motor serves multiple functions: it drives the conveyance unit to transport sheets to different housing sections, and it also drives the cover displacement unit to open and close removal ports. This multi-functional design allows a single driving source to perform what previously required multiple specialized motors.
2Ease of operation
If separate driving sources are provided for each housing section, then removal port control precision is improved, but the number of components and installation area increase
Solution Approach 1:
The cover displacement unit acts as an intermediary mechanism that translates the rotational motion from the shared conveyance motor into the linear motion needed to open and close covers. This intermediary mechanism allows precise control of multiple removal ports using a single driving source, maintaining control precision without requiring multiple motors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a temporal dimension to the control mechanism by sequentially activating different housing sections through the multistage tray system. Instead of simultaneously controlling all removal ports with multiple motors, the system uses time-sequenced operation where the single conveyance motor controls sheet delivery to different sections at different times, and the cover displacement unit responds accordingly.
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet safekeeping apparatus comprises a multistage tray in which a plurality of housing sections for accommodating sheets is arranged in a first direction, a removal port through which the accommodated sheet is taken out being formed in each of the plurality of the housing sections, and a cover configured for to close the removal port in an openable manner being provided in each of the plurality of the housing sections; a support section configured to support the multistage tray; a tray displacement unit configured to displace the multistage tray in the first direction with the support section; a conveyance unit configured to convey a sheet to the plurality of the housing sections; and a cover displacement unit configured to displace the cover of one housing section determined by an operation of the tray displacement unit among the plurality of the housing sections to open the removal port.