Sheet Feeding Stopper Velocity Control for Alignment
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Solution Overview
Problem
In existing sheet feeding apparatuses, when the abutment guide retreats, stacked sheets may collide with the stopper block, leading to misalignment and multiple sheets being fed at once, causing alignment issues during the conveying process.
Innovation Solution
A sheet feeding apparatus is designed with a support member, feed roller, separation roller, separator, stopper, and restriction member, where the stopper is configured to move from a first position to a second position with a specified movement velocity equal to or greater than the circumferential velocity of the feed roller, preventing collisions and ensuring proper alignment of sheets.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Productivity
If the abutment guide retreats to its retreat position, then sheets can be conveyed downstream, but sheets may collide with the stopper block causing misalignment and multiple sheets to be fed at once
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper is designed to move dynamically between a first position (where it restricts leading edges of sheets) and a second position (where it is spaced apart from sheets). This dynamic positioning allows the stopper to maintain sheet alignment during feeding while preventing collision during conveyance, resolving the contradiction between conveying speed and alignment precision
Solution Approach 2:
The restriction member holds the stopper in the first position before sheet feeding begins, preliminarily aligning the sheets. When the feed roller starts conveying sheets, the stopper is already in position to prevent misalignment. As sheets are fed, the stopper moves to the second position to prevent collision, maintaining both alignment and conveying efficiency
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet feeding apparatus includes a support member having a support surface, a feed roller, a stopper, and a restriction member. The stopper includes a restriction surface configured to contact leading edges of sheets supported on the support surface. A tangent extends in parallel to the support surface and passes through a point on an outer peripheral surface of the feed roller, and the tangent and the restriction surface of the stopper crosses at an intersection point. When the stopper moves from a first position to a second position, the intersection point moves with a movement velocity in a direction parallel to the tangent, the movement velocity at the intersection point being defined as a specified movement velocity. The restriction member is configured to restrict movement of the stopper such that the specified movement velocity is greater than or equal to a circumferential velocity of the feed roller.