Sheet Registration Carriage Reset Using Variable Pre-Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Current sheet registration devices in printers and copiers often require the carriage to travel long distances to correct for sheet misalignment, as they reset to a consistent position regardless of the next sheet's error, leading to inefficient movement and increased power consumption.
Innovation Solution
A sensing system that measures the lateral error of upcoming sheets and computes a variable pre-position for the carriage, allowing it to move to a position that minimizes total carriage motion, using first sensors within the media path to determine the error and second sensors to align the sheets accurately.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If the carriage resets to a consistent center position after registering a sheet, then the carriage is always positioned at a known location for the next sheet, but the carriage must travel a large distance to correct for worst case errors in either direction
Solution Approach 1:
The system measures the lateral error of the upcoming sheet in advance (before the carriage needs to position itself) and uses this information to pre-calculate and move the carriage to an optimized starting position. This preliminary measurement and positioning action eliminates the need for the carriage to travel from a fixed center position, reducing travel time while maintaining positioning accuracy.
2Ease of operation
If the carriage resets to a consistent center position, then the reset location is always predictable, but the total range of carriage motion increases significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The lateral error measurement of the upcoming sheet is performed in advance, allowing the system to pre-determine the optimal carriage starting position. This preliminary action enables the carriage to begin its registration movement from a position already optimized for the specific sheet error, rather than always returning to and departing from the center position, thus reducing the total travel distance.
3Adaptability or versatility
If the carriage travels large distances to correct for sheet misalignment errors, then all possible error conditions can be handled, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
By measuring the lateral error of the upcoming sheet before the carriage positioning operation, the system can pre-calculate the exact starting position needed. This allows the carriage to travel only the necessary distance to reach the optimal position, rather than always traveling from the center position, thereby reducing power consumption while maintaining full error correction capability.
4Device complexity
If the carriage always returns to the same reset position, then the system is simple to control, but the effectiveness of sheet alignment operations is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs a preliminary measurement of the upcoming sheet's lateral error and uses this information to determine the optimal carriage starting position. This preliminary action enables the carriage to begin its alignment operation from a position that is already optimized for the specific sheet error, improving alignment effectiveness without significantly increasing control system complexity.
Data Source
AI summary
A method and system feeds sheets through a media path in a process direction and moves a laterally movable sheet registration carriage (positioned within the media path) in a lateral direction perpendicular to the process direction. It determines the lateral error of the sheets within the media path before the sheets enter the sheet registration carriage, using first sensors positioned within the media path. This allows the sheet registration carriage to be moved to a variable lateral starting position (as opposed to a consistent reset position or centered reset position) before the sheets enter the sheet registration carriage based on the error of the sheets as determined by the first sensors. The error can be the amount of lateral error, or simply can be a classification of lateral error (right error, left error, etc.).