Pivotable Guide Member for Sheet Conveyance Path Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conveying apparatuses for image recording devices often face challenges in reliably guiding sheets through multiple conveying paths, leading to potential misalignment and increased resistance, especially when sheets are fed manually.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a housing with a conveying roller, guide members forming curved and straight paths, and a support member that allows the outer guide members to pivot between positions, ensuring sheets are guided correctly regardless of the path taken, reducing misalignment and resistance.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If multiple conveying paths are provided for sheet feeding, then the versatility of the apparatus is improved, but the reliability of sheet guidance deteriorates due to potential misalignment between paths
Solution Approach 1:
The outer guide member is made pivotable between a first position and a second position. In the first position, it guides sheets from the sheet feed tray through the curved path. In the second position, it guides sheets from the manual feed tray through the straight path. This dynamic reconfiguration allows the same guide member to serve multiple conveying paths reliably without misalignment issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The outer guide member serves multiple functions by being able to guide sheets from different feed trays (sheet feed tray and manual feed tray) through different path types (curved and straight paths). This multi-functionality is achieved through its pivotable design, allowing one component to replace what would traditionally require separate fixed guide members for each path.
2Device complexity
If fixed guide members are used for multiple conveying paths, then the device complexity is reduced, but the sheet conveyance reliability deteriorates due to misalignment and increased resistance
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of using multiple fixed guide members, the invention employs a single pivotable outer guide member that can dynamically adjust its position based on the feed tray being used. This reduces the number of components while maintaining high reliability through adaptive positioning that eliminates misalignment and resistance issues.
Data Source
AI summary
In a conveying apparatus, a support member supports a second guide member such that the second guide member is pivotable between a first position and a second position, a downstream-side edge of the second guide member in a sheet conveying direction being closer to a first guide member than to a fourth guide member when the second guide member is in a first position, the downstream-side edge of the second guide member being closer to the fourth guide member than to the first guide member when the second guide member is in the second position.