Paper Cassette Tray Alignment for Jam-Free Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses face issues with paper alignment and feeding errors, such as image deviation, front-end position deviation, lateral deviation, and paper jams, when handling paper bundles packaged in wrapping materials, which can lead to conveyance failures and jamming due to misalignment and the packaging material being caught in the cassette.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus includes a cassette with a tray that can be lifted to align papers, a pickup roller, a regulating member with a protrusion to prevent the packaging material from being conveyed, and a driving section to manage paper feeding, ensuring proper alignment and preventing packaging material interference during the paper feeding process.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If papers are taken out from packaging member and set in cassette, then paper setting is simplified, but paper alignment accuracy deteriorates due to disturbance and collapse of paper bundle
Solution Approach 1:
The packaging member is designed with a guide member that preliminarily guides and maintains paper bundle alignment before the papers are fed into the cassette. This preliminary alignment action prevents the collapse and misalignment that would otherwise occur when handling large bundles of papers, thereby maintaining alignment accuracy while simplifying the setting operation.
2Productivity
If packaging member is broken along perforation and end portion is picked up by pickup roller, then paper feeding is enabled, but conveyance failure occurs due to packaging member being caught on cassette members
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful factor (packaging member) is extracted or removed from the paper feeding process. The packaging member is designed to be easily separated or left outside the cassette, allowing only the necessary end portion of the papers to be picked up by the pickup roller. This prevents the packaging material from being caught on cassette members while maintaining paper feeding capability.
Solution Approach 2:
A guide member acts as an intermediary between the packaging member and the pickup roller. This intermediary component guides the papers from the packaging member to the pickup roller, ensuring that only the papers are conveyed while the packaging member remains separated and does not interfere with the conveyance process.
3Productivity
If large number of papers (250 or 500 sheets) are handled as one bundle, then paper setting efficiency is improved, but alignment precision deteriorates due to inability to align collapsed papers
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member in the packaging member performs preliminary alignment of the entire paper bundle before feeding. This preliminary action maintains the alignment of all papers in the bundle (whether 250 or 500 sheets) during handling, preventing collapse and ensuring alignment precision is maintained despite handling large quantities of papers as one bundle.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This solution simplifies paper setting, reduces the likelihood of setting failures, minimizes image and position deviations, and prevents paper jams by ensuring accurate paper alignment and proper handling of packaging materials, enhancing the reliability of the paper feeding process.
Implementation Method 1
a pickup roller which picks up the papers stored in the packaging member from the opened end portion of the packaging member
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with one embodiment, an image forming apparatus comprises a cassette for paper feed configured to contain a tray capable of stacking papers stored in a packaging member of which one end portion is opened, together with the packaging member; a paper feed section configured to contain a pickup roller which picks up the papers stored in the packaging member from the opened end portion of the packaging member; a regulating member configured to regulate that the packaging member is conveyed from the tray of the cassette; and a protrusion configured to be formed and protrude from the regulating member to cover the opened end portion of the packaging member.