Ring Binder Sizing via Sheet Thickness Measurement
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming systems face productivity issues and aesthetic concerns when producing booklets with varying sheet thickness, as they require frequent measurement of sheet thickness for accurate ring binding, which reduces efficiency and may damage the binding device if not matched correctly.
Innovation Solution
An image forming system that includes a sheet feed section, image forming section, punching section, sheet accommodation section, thickness measuring section, size determining section, ring binder supply section, and ring binding section, which measures the thickness of the first set of copies and determines the appropriate ring binder size, allowing subsequent copies to be bound using the same size, while re-measuring upon status changes or power interruptions to ensure accurate binding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If sheet thickness is measured for each of a plurality of copies to ensure accurate ring binding, then manufacturing precision is improved, but productivity deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system measures the sheet thickness for the first copy and stores this measurement result. For subsequent copies of the same job, the stored measurement result is reused without repeating the measurement process. This preliminary action of measuring once and reusing the result maintains binding accuracy while eliminating redundant measurements, thereby resolving the contradiction between precision and productivity
Solution Approach 2:
The measurement result obtained from the first copy is copied and applied to subsequent copies of the same job. The system determines that copies with the same job ticket number belong to the same job and reuses the stored thickness measurement and corresponding ring binder size information, avoiding repeated measurements and maintaining consistency across all copies
2Reliability
If a large ring binder is used for a thin bundle of sheets, then the binding device is protected from damage, but the product appearance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system selects ring binders with specific sizes that match the actual thickness of the sheet bundle. By using a thickness sensor to measure the bundle and determining the appropriate ring binder size based on the measurement, the system ensures that each binding operation uses the locally appropriate binder size, preventing both device damage and maintaining aesthetic appearance
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the parameter of ring binder size based on the measured sheet bundle thickness. The thickness measurement result is used to determine the appropriate ring binder size, allowing the system to adapt the binder size parameter to match the actual workpiece dimensions, thereby avoiding both oversized and undersized binder issues
3Productivity
If a small ring binder is used for a thick bundle of sheets, then productivity is improved by using a single binder size, but the booklet usability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically changes the ring binder size parameter based on the measured thickness of each sheet bundle. The thickness measurement result directly determines the selected ring binder size, ensuring that each binder is appropriately sized for its specific bundle thickness, thereby maintaining both operational efficiency and booklet usability
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming system including a control section provides control in such a way that, the ring binder of the size determined for the first set of copies is adopted so that ring binding is performed for a second set of copies or copies thereafter in a case of executing a job for ring binding of a plurality of copies. When at least one of a status change in the sheet feed section, a main power source being turned off, or a change in a job ticket is occurred from a suspension to a resumption of the job, since the thickness of a bundle of sheets may change, the thickness measuring section is caused to measure the thickness of the bundle in a first set of copies subsequent to resumption. And the control section judges continuation or suspension of a job.