Single-Motor Roller Skew Correction in Recording Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing recording apparatuses face difficulties in easily performing skew removal of a recording medium transported obliquely due to the need for synchronous and independent drive control of two drive motors for the sheet feed and transport rollers.
Innovation Solution
A recording apparatus with a single drive portion that simultaneously drives two rollers, where the first drive roller has a larger diameter and higher rotational speed than the second drive roller, allowing for easy skew removal by creating a speed difference to correct the medium's orientation.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If two independent drive motors are used for sheet feed roller and transport roller, then each roller can be driven independently, but the drive control becomes complex and skew removal is difficult to perform
Solution Approach 1:
The patent combines two independent drive motors into a single drive portion that simultaneously drives both the sheet feed roller and transport roller. This merging reduces the drive control system from managing two independent motors to managing one unified drive mechanism, thereby simplifying the control system while maintaining the capability to perform skew removal through coordinated rotation of both rollers.
2Manufacturing precision
If sheet feed roller and transport roller are driven simultaneously with different speeds, then skew removal is achieved, but requiring independent motor control increases system complexity
Solution Approach 1:
By merging the drive systems of the sheet feed roller and transport roller into a single drive portion, the patent achieves simultaneous differential speed control without requiring complex independent motor synchronization. The unified drive mechanism inherently coordinates the rotation of both rollers, enabling precision orientation correction while avoiding the complexity of synchronous control of separate motors.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent utilizes parameter changes in the drive mechanism to achieve different rotational speeds for the sheet feed roller and transport roller from a single drive source. By varying the transmission ratio or rotational speed parameters within the unified drive system, the desired differential speed control for skew removal is achieved without independent motor control.
3Device complexity
If a single drive portion drives two rollers simultaneously, then drive control is simplified, but achieving different transport speeds requires additional mechanisms
Solution Approach 1:
The patent achieves speed differential between the two rollers driven by a single drive portion through parameter changes in the transmission mechanism. By incorporating a transmission system with variable ratios or differential gear arrangements, the unified drive can deliver different rotational speeds to each roller, enabling skew removal functionality without adding independent motors or complex control systems.
Data Source
AI summary
A recording apparatus includes a printing unit that performs a recording on a first cut sheet, a sheet feed tray on which the first cut sheet is mounted, a sheet feed roller that transport the first cut sheet in a transport direction from the sheet feed tray toward the printing unit, a transport roller disposed downstream of the sheet feed roller in the transport direction and that holds the first cut sheet with a driven roller to transport the first cut sheet in the transport direction, and a single motor that drives the sheet feed roller and the transport roller, in which when the sheet feed roller and the transport roller are simultaneously driven by the single motor, a transport speed of the first cut sheet by the sheet feed roller is configured to be higher than a transport speed of the first cut sheet by the transport roller.