Rotatable Scanner Chamfered Edge Usability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The compact and lightweight design of image forming apparatuses has resulted in a reduced height of the concave portion on the document holder, making it difficult for users to easily lift the rotatable scanner, compromising usability and accessibility.
Innovation Solution
A rotatable scanner with a scanner body featuring a chamfered front upper edge and a document holder with a hinged side and a free side, including a catch portion with a sloped surface that allows easy grasping and lifting, even when the concave portion is not large enough to accommodate fingers, maintaining a compact design without increasing depth.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the document holder is made thinner to achieve compact design, then the height of the concave portion shrinks, but the user has trouble catching the concave portion to lift the scanner
Solution Approach 1:
The invention transitions from a vertical concave portion (depth direction) to a horizontal chamfered edge (surface dimension). Instead of relying on the height of a concave portion in the vertical direction, the design uses a chamfered edge that protrudes horizontally from the front upper surface, providing a grasping surface that is accessible from the front without requiring deep vertical recesses.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamfered edge is selectively applied only to the front upper edge of the scanner body, creating a localized grasping feature. This localized modification provides enhanced grip capability exactly where needed (at the front upper corner) without requiring changes to the overall compact structure or adding depth throughout the entire device.
2Weight of moving object
If the concave portion height is reduced to maintain compact structure, then the device remains lightweight, but usability and accessibility are compromised
Solution Approach 1:
The invention moves the grasping feature from the vertical dimension (concave portion height) to the horizontal dimension (chamfered edge protrusion). This dimensional shift allows the scanner to remain compact and lightweight while providing an accessible grasping surface that extends toward the user from the front upper corner.
Solution Approach 2:
The chamfered edge creates an asymmetric feature at the front upper corner, providing a directional grasping surface that naturally guides the user's hand. This asymmetric design enhances accessibility and ease of operation without requiring symmetric increases in concave portion height, thereby maintaining the compact and lightweight structure.
Data Source
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AI summary
A rotatable scanner (3) includes a scanner body (300) and a document holder (400). The scanner body includes an exposure surface (32) on which a document is placed. The document holder (400) is provided above the scanner body (300) to cover a document placed on the exposure surface of the scanner body, and includes a hinged side and a free side opposite the hinged side. A front upper edge (300A) of the scanner body (300) is chamfered.