Post-Processing Device Recessed Guiding Member for Image Formers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current post-processing devices in image forming apparatuses face inefficiencies in aligning and stacking media with existing edge binding technologies, leading to reduced productivity and increased noise due to the design of drawing members and guiding members.
Innovation Solution
The implementation of a post-processing device with a stacking portion, an aligning portion, and guiding members where the drawing members, such as paddle wheels, are designed to extend into recessed areas of the guiding members, reducing the distance between the edge-binding transport path and the stacking portion, and featuring tapered surfaces to minimize noise and jamming risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the drawing member is positioned closer to the stacking portion to reduce transport distance, then productivity is improved, but the risk of paddle wheel deformation and sheet jamming increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drawing member is positioned within a recessed portion of the guiding member, creating a nested structure where the drawing member operates inside the guiding member's recessed area. This nesting allows the drawing member to be close to the stacking portion for high productivity while the guiding member's recessed structure provides support and prevents excessive bending or deformation of the drawing member.
Solution Approach 2:
The guiding member acts as an intermediary between the drawing member and the sheet. The guiding member with its recessed portion provides a controlled environment that guides the sheet smoothly while protecting the drawing member from direct contact stresses that could cause deformation, thus preventing both paddle wheel deformation and sheet jamming.
2Manufacturing precision
If the drawing member extends further into the guiding member's recessed area, then sheet guiding precision is improved, but the complexity of the guiding member structure increases
Solution Approach 1:
The guiding member features a recessed portion with tapered surfaces at specific locations rather than throughout the entire structure. This localized modification provides the necessary sheet guiding precision at the critical interaction point between the drawing member and sheet, while maintaining a relatively simple overall structure of the guiding member.
3Object-generated harmful factors
If the recessed portion of the guiding member has a larger depth to accommodate the drawing member, then noise is reduced, but the volume of the guiding member increases
Solution Approach 1:
The tapered surfaces of the recessed portion are designed with smooth, gradual transitions rather than abrupt changes, creating a flexible-like interaction zone that allows the drawing member to operate smoothly within the recessed area. This design reduces noise by minimizing sudden impacts and vibrations while keeping the recessed portion depth optimized rather than excessively large.
Data Source
AI summary
A post-processing device includes a stacking portion on which a medium having an image recorded thereon is stacked; an aligning portion that is disposed on the stacking portion and that aligns a position of an edge of the medium; a drawing member that draws the medium stacked on the stacking portion toward the aligning portion; and a guiding member that is disposed above the drawing member and that guides the medium that is transported toward the stacking portion, the guiding member including a vicinity portion that is in a vicinity of the drawing member and that is recessed so as to receive the drawing member.