Sheet Feeding Apparatus Lifting Members Alignment
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet feeding apparatuses in image forming systems often experience mechanical failures that lead to sheet feeding failures, necessitating a solution to suppress such failures.
Innovation Solution
A sheet feeding apparatus is designed with a tray that lifts sheets vertically, a pickup roller to convey the top sheet, a first guide to direct the sheet, and a pair of lifting members that support the sheets and move vertically with the tray, ensuring proper alignment and feeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a conventional sheet feeding apparatus is used, then the structure is simple, but sheet feeding failure occurs due to mechanical reasons
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet feeding apparatus is divided into distinct functional modules: a tray for holding sheets, a pickup roller for conveying the uppermost sheet, a first guide for directing the sheet, and lifting members for supporting the sheet stack. This segmentation allows each component to perform its specific function reliably while maintaining overall system simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The lifting members act as intermediaries between the tray and the pickup roller, providing stable support to the sheet stack during the feeding process. These lifting members ensure proper positioning and alignment, preventing mechanical failures that would otherwise occur during sheet conveyance.
2Adaptability or versatility
If the number of sheets stacked is varied, then the adaptability is improved, but sheet feeding failure occurs due to alignment issues
Solution Approach 1:
The lifting members are designed to move vertically together with the tray, dynamically adjusting their position based on the number of sheets stacked. This dynamic movement ensures that the lifting members always maintain proper alignment with the sheet stack, whether one sheet or multiple sheets are present, thereby preventing feeding failures due to misalignment.
Solution Approach 2:
The vertical position of the lifting members changes according to the sheet stack height, allowing the apparatus to adapt to varying numbers of sheets. This parameter change ensures consistent alignment and proper feeding operation regardless of whether the tray contains a single sheet or multiple sheets stacked together.
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 apparatus effectively suppresses sheet feeding failures by ensuring consistent and reliable feeding of sheets, even with varying numbers of sheets stacked, thereby enhancing the operational stability of image forming systems.
Implementation Method 1
a pickup roller that is rotatable to convey an uppermost sheet of the sheets in a conveyance direction when the sheets are lifted and pressed against the pickup roller
Implementation Method 2
a tray on which a plurality of sheets can be stacked, the tray being movable in a vertical direction to lift the sheets
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet feeding apparatus includes a tray on which a plurality of sheets can be stacked, the tray being movable in a vertical direction to lift the sheets, a pickup roller that is rotatable to convey an uppermost sheet of the sheets in a conveyance direction when the sheets are lifted and pressed against the pickup roller, a first guide that is disposed adjacent to the pickup roller and guides the uppermost sheet conveyed by the pickup roller along the conveyance direction, and a pair of lifting members that support the sheets that are stacked in the tray. The lifting members extend along the conveyance direction, are spaced apart in a width direction of the sheets that is transverse to the conveyance direction, and are movable in the vertical direction together with the tray.