Printer Output Tray With Deployable Sheet For Media Adaptability
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Solution Overview
Problem
General purpose printers face limitations in accommodating a wide range of print media due to the design of their output trays, which often restrict the type and size of media that can be printed without the need for specialist machines.
Innovation Solution
The output tray design includes a flexible sheet attached between a spool and a guide member, allowing for deployment in various positions to accommodate different media sizes, with automated or manual deployment mechanisms to ensure the sheet is either taut or slack, forming a well to handle various print media types and sizes.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If the output tray is designed with a fixed structure, then the device complexity is reduced, but the adaptability to different print media sizes is limited
Solution Approach 1:
The output tray employs a deployable sheet that transitions from a stowed configuration to deployed positions, transforming a static structure into a dynamic one. This allows the tray to adapt its shape and size to accommodate different print media types (standard sheets, large formats, rolls) without requiring multiple fixed tray structures, thus improving adaptability while maintaining relatively simple device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The output tray is segmented into modular components: a spool for storing the sheet, a guide member for directing the sheet, and support members connecting them. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently while working together to achieve versatile media accommodation, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and structural simplicity.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the output tray uses a deployable sheet mechanism, then the adaptability to different media sizes is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The deployable sheet mechanism serves multiple functions: it supports standard sheets, large format media, and rolled media through a single unified structure. The sheet can be configured in different ways (taut or slack) to handle various media types, eliminating the need for multiple specialized trays and reducing overall device complexity despite the sophisticated deployment capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The output tray utilizes a flexible sheet that can deform and adapt its shape based on the media being handled. This flexible film approach replaces rigid, complex mechanical structures with a simpler flexible element that achieves the same adaptability through material properties rather than mechanical complexity.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the sheet is held taut between spool and guide member, then the structural stability is improved, but the ability to form a well for handling different media is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet tension is dynamically adjusted based on the deployed position. When the guide member is in the first deployed position, the sheet is held substantially taut for stable support of standard media. When moved to the second deployed position, the sheet becomes substantially slack to form a well for handling different media types. This dynamic tension adjustment resolves the contradiction between stability and adaptability.
Solution Approach 2:
The sheet transitions periodically between taut and slack states as the guide member moves between deployed positions. This periodic change in tension state allows the system to alternate between providing structural stability for standard media and forming wells for specialized media handling, achieving both requirements through time-based state changes.
Data Source
AI summary
An output tray for a printer, a printer comprising the output tray, and a kit of parts including the output tray. The output tray comprises a spool, a guide member, and a sheet attached between to the spool and the guide member. The guide member is movable between a stowed and one or more deployed positions. The sheet is deployed from a stored configuration to one or more in-use positions upon movement of the guide member.