Rotatable Document Tray with Positioners for Visibility
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Solution Overview
Problem
In multifunction printers, automatic document feeders face challenges with visibility and document handling, especially when dealing with small-sized documents, leading to potential misplacement or damage due to the design of the document tray and ejection tray configuration.
Innovation Solution
The automatic document feeding device incorporates a rotatable document tray with a first positioner and a second positioner, where the first positioner is positioned upstream from the rotation fulcrum and above the document takeout port, securing visibility and preventing damage by supporting the tray and ensuring proper alignment, while the second positioner aids in holding the tray during opening and closing operations.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Illumination intensity
If the document tray is made rotatable to improve document accessibility and visibility, then document visibility is improved, but the structural complexity and potential for tray damage increase
Solution Approach 1:
The document tray is designed to be rotatable around a fulcrum, transforming from a static structure to a dynamic one that can change orientation. This allows the tray to rotate between a loaded state (angled for visibility) and a stacking state (horizontal for compactness), resolving the contradiction between visibility and structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray structure is divided into multiple functional segments: the rotatable tray body, the positioners for stabilization, and the fulcrum pivot point. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function independently, reducing overall structural complexity while maintaining rotatability for visibility.
2Illumination intensity
If the first positioner is placed above the document takeout port to improve document visibility, then document visibility is improved, but the risk of document misplacement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The first positioner acts as an intermediary element between the document takeout port and the tray. It provides a guided path and physical constraint that ensures documents are properly directed during the tray's rotation, preventing misplacement while maintaining visibility through the elevated positioner design.
Solution Approach 2:
The positioner's geometric design inherently guides documents into the correct position during tray rotation. The structure itself performs the alignment function through its shape and positioning, eliminating the need for additional active control mechanisms and ensuring reliable document handling through passive geometric constraints.
3Volume of moving object
If the document tray is rotated to a horizontal position for compact stacking, then device downsizing is achieved, but the visibility of ejected documents decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The tray dynamically changes orientation based on operational state. During loading and document retrieval, the tray rotates to an angled position that provides optimal visibility. During stacking operations, it transitions to a horizontal position for compactness. This dynamic reconfiguration resolves the contradiction between size and visibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray undergoes periodic rotation between two main positions: the angled visibility-oriented position during document handling, and the horizontal compactness-oriented position during stacking. This periodic transformation allows the system to alternately optimize for visibility and size depending on the operational phase.
Data Source
AI summary
An automatic document feeding device includes a document tray, an ejection tray, and a document takeout port. The document tray is rotatably attached to a rotation fulcrum provided in a body of the automatic document feeder, to load a document. The document tray includes a first positioner and a second positioner. The first positioner is disposed at a front side of the body in a direction perpendicular to a document feed direction. The second positioner is disposed at a depth side of the body in the direction perpendicular to the document feed direction. The first positioner is disposed upstream from the rotation fulcrum in the document feed direction and above the document takeout port in the body. An upper portion and side surfaces of the first positioner in the direction perpendicular to the document feed direction are surrounded by the document tray in a closed state of the document tray.