Sheet Feeding Device Locking Mechanism for Skew Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet feeding devices face challenges in ensuring consistent sheet feeding operations, particularly in preventing multiple feeding failures and skew, due to balanced rotational forces that prevent the contact member from returning to the contact position, leading to issues like paper jams and print quality deterioration.
Innovation Solution
The sheet feeding device incorporates a contact member and a lock member with a sliding portion and sliding target portion positioned differently along the rotation center axis, allowing the contact member to rotate from a retracted to a contact position under lock biasing force, while the lock member locks the contact member in place, preventing rotation back to the retracted position, thus ensuring proper sheet alignment and feeding.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the contact member is designed to rotate between contact position and retracted position using a lock member with biasing force, then the sheet feeding operation should be reliable, but balanced rotational forces may prevent the contact member from returning to the contact position, causing multiple feeding failures and skew
Solution Approach 1:
The contact member is divided into two distinct functional portions: a contact body that contacts the sheet and a lock target body that interacts with the lock member. This segmentation allows independent optimization of each portion's function, enabling the contact body to reliably return to the contact position while the lock target body provides secure locking when needed.
Solution Approach 2:
The lock target body and sliding target portion are positioned at different locations in the rotation center axial direction, adding a dimensional aspect to the locking mechanism. This spatial differentiation allows the lock member to effectively lock the contact member at the contact position while not interfering with the natural return motion driven by biasing force.
2Reliability
If the lock member locks the contact member at the contact position, then multiple feeding failures are prevented, but the contact member may fail to rotate back to the contact position due to balanced rotational forces
Solution Approach 1:
By separating the contact body and lock target body into distinct portions located at different positions along the rotation axis, the invention enables the lock mechanism to secure the contact member without creating balanced rotational forces that would prevent return motion. The segmented design allows the biasing force to act effectively on the contact body while the lock target body provides positioning stability.
3Device complexity
If the lock target body and sliding target portion are positioned at the same location, then the locking mechanism is simple, but the contact member cannot maintain stable positioning during rotation
Solution Approach 1:
The invention positions the lock target body and sliding target portion at different locations in the rotation center axial direction, utilizing the axial dimension to resolve the conflict between simplicity and stability. This dimensional separation allows the lock member to engage the lock target body for stable positioning while the sliding target portion provides guidance during rotation, achieving both simplicity and stability without complex mechanisms.
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
This configuration enhances sheet feeding stability, preventing multiple feeding failures and skew, ensuring consistent sheet alignment and improving print quality by maintaining the contact member at the contact position, even with varying sheet types and sizes.
Implementation Method 1
The lock member is configured to receive a lock biasing force applied due to a weight of the lock member or by a biasing member when the lock member moves in a lock direction of the lock member from the lock released position toward the locked position
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet feeding device includes a contact member and a lock member. The contact member is configured to rotate from a retracted position to a contact position while a sliding portion of the lock member is sliding on a sliding target portion of the contact member and to rotate to the contact position to release the sliding portion of the lock member from the sliding target portion of the contact member. The lock member is configured to rotate between a locked position and a lock released position by a lock biasing force when the lock member moves in a lock direction of the lock member from the lock released position toward the locked position. The contact member has the lock target body and the sliding target portion at different positions from each other in a rotation center axial direction of the contact member.