Sheet Folding Control Using Downstream Sensor Feedback
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet processing devices and image forming apparatuses face challenges in efficiently and accurately folding sheets into predetermined shapes, such as Z-fold, letter fold-out, or half-fold, due to inadequate control over the timing and coordination of rollers and sensors.
Innovation Solution
The integration of an upstream device with multiple rollers and a downstream device equipped with a sheet sensor, controlled by circuitry, allows precise timing of roller rotations based on sheet detection for effective folding processes, including a sheet folder and a sheet binder, capable of performing various folding methods.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If roller rotation timing is not synchronized with sheet detection, then the sheet processing can proceed continuously, but the folding precision and accuracy deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The downstream device detects the sheet position and provides feedback signals to the upstream device. The control circuitry uses this feedback to synchronize roller rotation timing with sheet arrival, ensuring precise folding while maintaining systematic coordination.
Solution Approach 2:
The upstream device receives advance notice from the downstream device about when the sheet will arrive. This preliminary information allows the upstream device to prepare and rotate rollers at the exact moment needed for accurate folding.
2Adaptability or versatility
If multiple rollers are coordinated for sheet processing, then the sheet folding capability is improved, but the coordination control difficulty increases
Solution Approach 1:
The control circuitry of the upstream device and downstream device is merged into a coordinated control system. This integration enables synchronized operation of multiple rollers across both devices, achieving complex sheet folding while managing coordination through unified control logic.
3Measurement precision
If sheet detection is performed downstream, then the sheet position can be accurately detected, but the response time for upstream roller adjustment is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The downstream device detects the sheet position in advance and communicates this information upstream. This preliminary detection allows the upstream device to prepare roller rotation timing without waiting for the sheet to reach the folding point, reducing actual response time while maintaining detection accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet processing device includes an upstream device, a downstream device, and a controller as circuitry. The upstream device includes multiple rollers to convey a sheet in a conveyance direction and perform a sheet processing. The downstream device is downstream from the upstream device in the conveyance direction. The downstream device includes a sheet sensor to detect the sheet. The controller controls a timing to rotate the multiple rollers of the upstream device to perform the sheet processing in response to a detection of the sheet by the sheet sensor.