Transport Apparatus Frame Segmentation for Warping Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Transport apparatuses with urging members face challenges in reducing size while preventing frame warping, particularly when the frame is made thinner or smaller, as the force exerted by the urging member can cause the frame to warp, affecting sheet transport efficiency.
Innovation Solution
The transport apparatus is designed with a first and second frame as separate components, where the second frame provides rigidity to oppose the urging member's force, and is thicker and bent to increase rigidity, while the first frame's size can be reduced in the height direction by locating the first position in the overlapping region between the frames, and the third frame hooks the urging member to reduce deformation likelihood.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the frame is made thinner or smaller to reduce the size of the transport apparatus, then the size of the apparatus is reduced, but the frame warps under the force exerted by the urging member
Solution Approach 1:
The frame is divided into a first frame and a second frame as separate components. The first frame can be made thinner to reduce overall size, while the second frame provides the necessary rigidity to resist the urging member's force, thus preventing warping. This segmentation allows each frame to have optimized thickness for its specific function.
Solution Approach 2:
The first position where the urging member connects is located in an overlapping region between the first frame and the second frame in the height direction. This spatial arrangement allows the first frame to be thinner while still benefiting from the structural support of the overlapping second frame, reducing warping without increasing the apparatus's footprint.
2Volume of moving object
If the thickness of the first frame is reduced to minimize apparatus size, then the size is reduced, but the rigidity to oppose the urging member's force is insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The frame structure is segmented into two separate frames with different thicknesses. The first frame has reduced thickness for miniaturization, while the second frame maintains sufficient thickness to provide the required rigidity. This segmentation allows the system to achieve both size reduction and adequate strength.
Solution Approach 2:
Different parts of the frame structure have different thicknesses tailored to their specific functional requirements. The first frame is thinner where high rigidity is not critical, while the second frame is thicker where it must oppose the urging member's force. This local differentiation optimizes both size and strength.
3Strength
If the second frame is made thicker to increase rigidity and prevent warping, then the rigidity is improved, but the size of the transport apparatus increases
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the frame into two separate frames, the second frame can be made thicker to provide necessary rigidity without requiring the entire apparatus to be larger. The first frame compensates by being thinner, balancing the overall size while maintaining structural integrity.
Solution Approach 2:
The overlapping arrangement in the height direction allows the thicker second frame to provide rigidity without increasing the apparatus's horizontal footprint. The vertical stacking of frames enables local thickness variation without proportional increase in overall volume.
Data Source
AI summary
A transport apparatus includes an idler roller and a drive roller that transport a medium by rotating with the medium being nipped therebetween, a first frame that includes a first position and a second position that is different from the first position, a main guide shaft that extends in a transverse direction that intersects a transport direction of the medium and is joined to the first frame at the first position, a second frame that is joined to the first frame at the second position, and an urging member that exerts a force on the second frame by urging the idler roller toward the drive roller. In the transport apparatus, the first position is located in an overlapping region between the first frame and the second frame in a height direction that orthogonally intersects the transport direction and the transverse direction.