Sheet Conveyance Switching for Cut-Sheet Overlap Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet conveyance systems struggle to handle situations where sheets are cut into multiple effective sheets in the conveyance direction, leading to issues such as overlapping, jamming, and inefficiencies in collating and gathering due to blank pages or different jobs being printed consecutively, especially when sheet sizes and operations are not fixed.
Innovation Solution
A sheet conveyance apparatus with a cutting section that divides sheets into effective sheets, a conveyance section for individual conveyance, and a conveyance operation switching mechanism controlled by a hardware processor to adjust conveyance operations based on image formation and cutting information, allowing for differentiated handling of sheets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If sheets are cut into multiple effective sheets in the conveyance direction, then productivity is improved by printing multiple contents on a single sheet, but adjacent effective sheets overlap each other after cutting causing sheet jam
Solution Approach 1:
The patent introduces a conveyance operation switching mechanism that divides the conveyance path into multiple segments (first conveyance path and second conveyance path). After cutting, adjacent effective sheets are directed along different conveyance paths, segmenting their travel routes to prevent overlap and jamming while maintaining high printing productivity.
2Device complexity
If fixed conveyance operation is used, then device complexity is reduced, but the apparatus cannot cope with collating and gathering work when blank pages or multiple jobs are involved
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a dynamic conveyance operation switching mechanism controlled by a hardware processor. The system dynamically adjusts conveyance operations based on sheet information, directing different effective sheets along different paths as needed. This dynamic adaptation enables flexible handling of blank pages and multiple jobs without requiring complex manual intervention.
3Reliability
If guide members are used to transport sheets in different directions, then overlapping of effective sheets is avoided, but the configuration can cope with only a fixed sheet size and cannot handle three or more rows
Solution Approach 1:
The patent designs a universal conveyance operation switching mechanism that can handle multiple sheet configurations (different sizes and row arrangements). The hardware processor controls the switching mechanism to adaptively direct sheets along appropriate conveyance paths based on their specific characteristics, making the system versatile for various sheet formats while maintaining reliable separation to prevent overlapping.
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet conveyance apparatus includes: a cutting section that cuts, in a conveyance direction, a sheet on which images are printed to divide the sheet into multiple effective sheets; a conveyance section capable of individually conveying the effective sheets divided by the cutting section; a conveyance operation switching mechanism capable of switching a conveyance operation of the effective sheets conveyed by the conveyance section; and a hardware processor that controls the conveyance operation switching mechanism. Based on at least either information on image formation on the effective sheets or information on cutting of the sheet into the effective sheets, the hardware processor controls the conveyance operation switching mechanism to switch the conveyance operation of the effective sheets.