Printing Apparatus Movable Blade Cutting Mechanism
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Solution Overview
Problem
Printers with movable blades for cutting recording paper face increased costs and risk of failure due to the use of sliding members, which are prone to abrasion and require additional components for switching between partial and full cutting modes.
Innovation Solution
A printing apparatus with a movable blade and a plate, where the blade and plate include guide grooves and shafts that change position relative to each other based on the rotational direction of a driving gear, allowing for partial and full cutting without the need for additional switching members, thereby reducing costs and abrasion risks.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a sliding member is used to change the stroke of the movable blade for switching between partial and full cutting, then the cutting functionality is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase, and the reliability decreases due to abrasion
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the sliding member from the system entirely. Instead of using a sliding mechanism to change the blade stroke, the invention uses a rotating body with different rotational directions to achieve both partial and full cutting modes, thereby eliminating the component prone to abrasion and failure.
Solution Approach 2:
Rather than moving the blade back and forth along a linear path with a sliding member, the invention inverts the approach by rotating the blade in different directions (clockwise for partial cutting, counter-clockwise for full cutting) to achieve different cutting modes, converting a linear motion problem into a rotational motion solution.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a sliding member is used to change the stroke of the movable blade, then the cutting functionality is improved, but the device complexity and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines the functions of stroke adjustment and cutting mode selection into a single rotating body mechanism. The same rotating body that drives the blade also controls whether partial or full cutting occurs, eliminating the need for separate sliding members and reducing overall device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotating body serves multiple functions: it drives the movable blade, controls the cutting stroke length, and determines the cutting mode (partial or full) based on rotational direction. This multi-functional component replaces what would traditionally require multiple separate components including sliding members.
3Adaptability or versatility
If a sliding member is used to change the stroke of the movable blade, then the cutting functionality is improved, but the manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
By removing the sliding member from the design, the patent eliminates the associated manufacturing costs of producing, assembling, and maintaining this component. The simplified mechanism using only the rotating body and guide groove reduces overall manufacturing complexity and cost.
Data Source
AI summary
A printing apparatus is able to perform partial cutting in which a portion of thermal paper remains uncut and full cutting in which the thermal paper is completely cut, and the printing apparatus includes a movable blade, a plate, and a driven gear. The plate includes a guide groove, the movable blade includes a guide shaft, the guide groove includes a first side and a second side, and the second side includes a certain portion extending in a direction away from the first side. When the driving gear rotates in a first rotational direction, the guide shaft changes a position with respect to the guide groove along the first side to perform the partial cutting, and when the driving gear rotates in a second rotational direction, the guide shaft changes the position with respect to the guide groove along the second side to perform the full cutting.