Sheet Stacking Apparatus Dynamic Alignment Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet stacking apparatuses face challenges in aligning and stacking sheets with widths smaller than a certain width, leading to disturbed stacking and potential collapse due to limited movable range of aligning members and height differences caused by sheet thickness variations.
Innovation Solution
A sheet stacking apparatus with a control section that adjusts the relative position of aligning sections and shift sections to align narrower sheets by regulating the distance between aligning members and sheet edges, allowing for improved alignment and stacking characteristics by shifting the sheets in the width direction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the sheet pressing member is disposed in the center portion of the stacking position, then the sheet jumping amount is controlled and stacking stability is improved, but the movable range of aligning members is limited and sheets with small widths cannot be aligned
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet pressing member is made movable in the sheet width direction rather than being fixed at the center. The pressing position is dynamically adjusted based on sheet width: for sheets wider than a reference width, the pressing member is positioned at the center; for sheets narrower than the reference width, the pressing member is shifted to enable the aligning members to properly align the sheet edges. This dynamic positioning resolves the contradiction by allowing both stable stacking and adaptable alignment across different sheet widths.
2Quantity of substance
If the number of stacked envelopes increases, then stacking capacity is improved, but height difference between flap portion and sheet face increases causing inclination and potential collapse
Solution Approach 1:
The aligning members perform alignment action before the sheet is fully stacked, and the sheet pressing member applies pressing force at an optimized position determined beforehand based on sheet width. This preliminary and pre-planned action ensures that each sheet is properly aligned and pressed before adding subsequent sheets, preventing cumulative height differences and inclination even as stacking capacity increases.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the pressing position parameter of the sheet pressing member based on sheet width. For envelopes with flap portions, the pressing member is positioned to apply force at a location that compensates for the height difference created by the folded flap, rather than always pressing at the geometric center. This parameter adjustment maintains stacking stability while allowing increased stacking capacity.
3Manufacturing precision
If aligning members are used to align sheets in width direction, then alignment precision is improved, but sheets with widths smaller than the movable range cannot be aligned and are stacked in a disturbed state
Solution Approach 1:
The sheet pressing member's pressing position is locally adjusted according to sheet width characteristics. Instead of using a uniform pressing position for all sheets, the system applies localized quality control by positioning the pressing member at different locations along the sheet width direction. For narrow sheets, the pressing member is positioned to work in conjunction with the aligning members to achieve proper alignment, ensuring that alignment precision is maintained across all sheet sizes.
Data Source
AI summary
To provide a sheet stacking apparatus and image forming system capable of improving alignment characteristics also in the case where an aligning section is not able to act on a sheet discharged onto a stacking tray, the sheet stacking apparatus and image forming system include a stacking tray stacking discharged sheets, a pair of aligning sections capable of shifting in a width direction to align the width direction crossing a direction in which the sheet to stack on the stacking tray is discharged, and a control section that controls a relative position of the aligning sections and the sheet to discharge so that one of the pair of the aligning sections regulates a shift of the sheet stacked on the stacking tray to one direction side in the width direction, when a sheet with a predetermined width in the width direction of the sheet is discharged to the stacking tray.