Printer Retainer System for Curling Medium Stacking
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet recording apparatuses face challenges in maintaining favorable stacking properties of media on a paper discharge tray due to curling issues, particularly when the medium has longitudinal or latitudinal grain, which can impede the discharge of subsequent media.
Innovation Solution
A recording apparatus is designed with a retainer system that includes multiple retaining portions positioned along the medium discharge direction, with some retaining portions closer to the upstream and others deviated in the width direction, allowing for effective retention of both upstream and downstream curls, and featuring rotational movement shafts to reduce pressing force and prevent damage during medium removal.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a single retaining portion is provided on the downstream side to retain the rear end of the medium, then the stacking properties of the medium are improved, but the curled portion on the downstream cannot be retained and the previous medium may impede the following medium
Solution Approach 1:
The retainer is divided into multiple retaining portions (first retaining portion and second retaining portion) positioned at different locations. The first retaining portion retains the downstream end while the second retaining portion retains the upstream end, segmenting the retention function to address curling at multiple positions along the medium.
Solution Approach 2:
The retaining portions are arranged in the medium discharge direction (longitudinal dimension) rather than only in the width direction. This dimensional arrangement allows the retainer to control curling at both upstream and downstream ends by positioning retaining portions at different distances from the discharge portion along the discharge direction.
2Manufacturing precision
If retaining portions are provided to retain both upstream and downstream curls, then the stacking properties are maintained, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
Multiple retaining portions are integrated into a single retainer component that can be implemented as one piece or pre-assembled unit. This merging approach maintains the functional benefits of multi-position retention while avoiding the complexity of multiple separate mechanisms, as the retaining portions work together as a unified system.
Data Source
AI summary
A printer includes a recording unit which performs recording on paper, an discharge portion which discharges the paper after the recording by the recording unit, a first paper discharge tray on which the paper which is discharge from the discharge portion is placed, and a retainer which includes a plurality of retaining portions which retains the paper toward the first paper discharge tray on a downstream in a medium discharge direction of the discharge portion, in which the plurality of retaining portions includes a first retaining portion and a second retaining portion which retains closer to an upstream in the medium discharge direction than a retaining position of the first retaining portion.