Recording Apparatus Roller Overlap for Compact Two-Sided Printing
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing recording apparatuses face challenges in reducing height while maintaining efficient paper handling and reversing mechanisms for two-sided printing, leading to increased height due to overlapping components.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a medium container with switchable feeding rollers, a reversing path, a recorder, a back-feed path, and a nip roller configuration that allows for non-overlapping heights, with the nip roller positioned to align with the reversing roller's bending direction, supported by a frame with driven rollers and a guide member to reduce friction and enhance medium transport.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a driven roller is disposed directly below the reversing roller and a feeding roller is provided below the driven roller, then two-sided printing can be performed, but the height of the apparatus increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent repositions the feeding roller to overlap with the reversing roller in the width direction rather than stacking them vertically. This dimensional change allows the feeding roller to be located at a position that does not increase apparatus height while still enabling the reversing roller to perform its function for two-sided printing.
Solution Approach 2:
The feeding roller is designed to serve multiple functions: it feeds paper from the paper cassette during normal operation and also guides reversed paper during two-sided printing. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate dedicated rollers for each function, reducing overall apparatus height.
2Quantity of substance
If feeding rollers are positioned below the driven roller to store medium, then medium storage is achieved, but the height of the recording apparatus increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent positions the feeding roller to overlap with the reversing roller in the width direction rather than stacking components vertically. This allows medium storage functionality to be achieved without increasing apparatus height in the vertical dimension.
Solution Approach 2:
The feeding roller is nested within the space occupied by the reversing roller's operational path, specifically positioned to overlap in the width direction. This nesting arrangement allows both components to coexist without increasing overall apparatus height while maintaining medium storage capability.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration reduces the overall height of the recording apparatus by preventing vertical overlap of rollers and improves medium handling efficiency, enabling smooth bending and reversing while minimizing friction and transport load.
Implementation Method 1
a nip roller configured to nip the medium within the back-feed path
Implementation Method 2
feeding rollers configured to be switched between a feeding state in which the feeding rollers are in contact with the medium that is stored in the medium container
Implementation Method 3
a reversing roller configured to reverse the medium that has been fed from the medium container
Data Source
AI summary
A recording apparatus includes a medium container to store a medium, feeding rollers to be switched between a feeding state in which the feeding rollers are in contact with the medium and a separated state in which the feeding rollers are separated from the medium, a reversing path for reversing the medium that has been fed from the medium container, a recorder to perform recording on the medium that has been reversed by the reversing path, a back-feed path for introducing the medium that has been fed in the reverse direction from the recording region in which recording has been performed by the recorder toward the reversing path, and a nip roller configured to nip the medium within the back-feed path. At least a portion of the feeding rollers that are in the separated state overlaps the nip roller in the direction of the height of the recording apparatus.