Shift Roller Shaft Coupling for Jam-Resistant Sheet Conveyance
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing sheet conveying devices face issues with sheet skewing and paper jams due to uneven pressure distribution and shifting mechanisms that fail to maintain consistent contact with the sheet during conveyance, particularly when shifting in the width direction.
Innovation Solution
A novel sheet conveying device with a shift roller pair comprising first and second shift rollers, supported by multiple roller shafts and coupled by a rotatable coupler, which allows for controlled movement in the width direction, ensuring consistent pressure distribution and preventing sheet skewing and jams.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If a shift roller pair is used to convey and shift sheets in the width direction, then sheet conveyance and shifting functions are achieved, but sheet skewing and paper jams occur due to uneven pressure distribution
Solution Approach 1:
The shift roller is divided into multiple rollers (first shift roller and second shift roller) arranged in the width direction, with each roller independently supported by separate roller shafts. This segmentation allows independent pressure adjustment for each roller, enabling uniform pressure distribution across the sheet width while maintaining conveyance and shifting functions, thereby preventing sheet skewing and paper jams
Solution Approach 2:
Each roller shaft is provided with an independent pressing member that can apply pressure locally to its corresponding shift roller. This local quality control enables precise adjustment of pressure distribution at different positions across the sheet width, ensuring uniform contact between the shift rollers and sheet, thus eliminating the uneven pressure that causes skewing and jams
2Adaptability or versatility
If the shift roller pair is moved in the width direction to shift the sheet, then sheet shifting in the width direction is achieved, but consistent contact with the sheet is not maintained
Solution Approach 1:
The roller shafts are designed to be movable in the width direction, allowing the shift rollers to dynamically follow and maintain contact with the sheet during shifting operations. This dynamic adjustment capability ensures that the rollers adapt to sheet position changes while maintaining consistent contact, achieving both sheet shifting versatility and contact consistency
Solution Approach 2:
The independent pressing members provide continuous pressure to the roller shafts, creating a feedback mechanism that maintains optimal contact force between the shift rollers and the sheet during width direction movement. This ensures consistent contact is maintained throughout the shifting operation, preventing loss of contact that would cause reliability issues
Data Source
AI summary
A sheet conveying device includes a shift roller pair, a shifter, multiple roller shafts, and a coupler. The shift roller pair includes first shift rollers, and second shift rollers facing the first shift rollers. The shift roller pair is conveyable a sheet in a sheet conveyance direction and movable in a width direction orthogonal to the sheet conveyance direction. The shifter moves the shift roller pair in the width direction to shift the sheet in the width direction as a shift operation. The multiple roller shafts support the first shift rollers. The coupler couples the multiple roller shafts and is rotatable with respect to the multiple roller shafts.