Sheet Storage Cam Mechanism for Accurate Size Detection
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
The existing sheet size detecting mechanism in image forming apparatuses, such as printers, suffers from reduced detection accuracy due to component tolerance caused by additional components required to detect sheet size variations, leading to inaccuracies in sheet size determination.
Innovation Solution
A sheet storage apparatus with a cam member and slide member configuration that allows the cam member to move in a direction intersecting with the attaching/detaching direction of the storage portion, engaging with a sensor to provide a detection value based on the position change, thereby reducing component tolerance and improving detection accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If a lever and pressing member mechanism is used to detect side plate position, then the sheet size detecting mechanism can function, but component tolerance accumulates and detection accuracy decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The invention extracts and eliminates the pressing member from the detection mechanism. The side plate directly engages with the cam member, removing the intermediate pressing member that caused tolerance accumulation. This simplifies the mechanism while maintaining detection functionality.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam member serves as an intermediary that converts the side plate's widthwise movement into detecting member movement. The cam groove geometry directly translates positional information without requiring additional pressing components, reducing tolerance accumulation.
2Adaptability or versatility
If a pressing member is added to absorb distance variations, then the mechanism can accommodate movement ranges, but detection accuracy drops due to added component tolerance
Solution Approach 1:
The pressing member is completely removed from the system. The cam groove geometry inherently accommodates movement range variations while maintaining direct engagement between the side plate and detecting member, eliminating the source of tolerance accumulation.
Solution Approach 2:
The cam groove is designed with specific geometry in the width direction that converts widthwise movement into detecting member movement. This dimensional transformation allows the mechanism to accommodate various movement ranges while maintaining detection accuracy through direct engagement.
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 enables accurate and precise detection of sheet size without adding component tolerance, enhancing the usability and reliability of the sheet storage apparatus by directly transmitting the position information to the apparatus body, reducing the need for additional user operations and minimizing operating force.
Implementation Method 1
a cam member provided in the storage portion and configured to move in a second direction by interlocking with a movement of the regulating portion in the first direction
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet storage apparatus includes an apparatus body, a sheet storage portion attachable/detachable to/from the apparatus body, a regulating portion to regulate a position of an end portion of the sheet stored in the storage portion, a cam member slidably movable by interlocking with a movement of the regulating portion, and a slide member supported on the apparatus body and slidably movable by engaging with the cam member in a case where the storage portion is attached to the apparatus body. A sensor includes a moving portion supported on the apparatus body and movable by engaging with the slide member, and a variable resistor, supported on the apparatus body, whose resistance value varies in response to a position of the moving portion in the second direction. The sensor outputs a detection value that varies in response to the resistance value of the variable resistor.