Sheet Discharge Tray with Rotatable Second Tray for Jam Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming apparatuses, curled sheets can cause jamming and unstable stacking on discharge trays due to their self-weight causing them to curl further and move out of the tray, leading to incomplete sheet reception.
Innovation Solution
A sheet discharge tray design featuring a frame with a first tray inclined upward and a second tray that can move and rotate, supported by an angle switching member, allowing for adjustable inclination to manage sheet curvature and prevent jamming by distributing the weight more evenly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the sheet discharge tray is inclined upward to allow sheets to move by self-weight, then sheets can be discharged automatically toward the discharge portion, but curled sheets may move out of the tray or jam in the discharge portion
Solution Approach 1:
The second tray is made movable in the sheet discharge direction and rotatable about its upstream side, allowing the tray configuration to dynamically adapt to different sheet conditions (curled vs. flat) and prevent jamming while maintaining automatic discharge functionality
Solution Approach 2:
The inclination angle of the second tray can be changed by rotating it about its upstream side, allowing the system to adjust the gravitational force component acting on sheets based on their condition, thereby preventing both excessive movement and jamming
2Adaptability or versatility
If curled sheets are stacked on the sheet discharge tray, then some sheets may partly move out of the tray, but the tray structure cannot accommodate the curvature variation
Solution Approach 1:
The second tray's ability to move and rotate provides dynamic adaptation to sheet curvature variations without requiring a completely complex adjustable mechanism, as the rotation about the upstream side simply changes the effective inclination angle for different sheet types
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
The design effectively reduces sheet curling and prevents jamming by allowing for adjustable tray angles, ensuring stable sheet stacking and improved user-friendliness in handling various sheet sizes and orientations.
Implementation Method 1
When the second tray is at the third position, the angle switching member supports the second tray at a second inclination angle smaller than the first inclination angle when the second tray is at the second position
Implementation Method 2
the second tray is rotatable about, as a pivot, its upstream side in the sheet discharge direction
Data Source
AI summary
A discharge tray has a frame, a first tray, a second tray, and an angle switching member. The first tray has a sheet-discharge-direction downstream side inclined upward. The second tray is movable, along a pair of wall portions on the frame, to a first position where at least part of the second tray overlaps the first tray, a second position to which the second tray extends toward the sheet-discharge-direction downstream side, and a third position to the sheet-discharge-direction downstream side of the second position where the second tray is rotatable. As the second tray moves, the angle switching member moves. At the third position, the angle switching member rotates through a predetermined angle and is held by the wall portions. The angle switching member supports the second tray at a second inclination angle smaller than a first inclination angle when the second tray is at the second position.