Turn-aside Portion Delays Sheet Arrival in Post-processing Device
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional post-processing devices face productivity issues when the number of sheets in a copy exceeds the maximum capacity of the processing tray, leading to increased inter-sheet gaps and delayed printing, as they often require stopping the printing process to manage the sheet bundle delivery effectively.
Innovation Solution
A post-processing device with a processing tray, a transport portion, a delivery mechanism, and a turn-aside portion that delays the arrival of sheets at the processing tray by turning aside sheets when the remaining number of unstacked sheets exceeds the maximum capacity, allowing for continuous delivery without isolating the last page, thus maintaining normal inter-sheet gaps and productivity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the printing speed is decreased to increase inter-sheet gap for sheet bundle delivery, then the sheet bundle delivery can be performed, but the productivity decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The turn-aside portion turns aside the last page in advance before it reaches the processing tray, creating a time gap that allows the sheet bundle to be delivered without stopping the printing process. This preliminary action prevents the need to decrease printing speed while ensuring reliable sheet bundle delivery.
2Reliability
If the last page is turned aside to delay its arrival at the processing tray, then the sheet bundle delivery timing can be controlled, but the last page of one copy may overlap with the first page of the succeeding copy
Solution Approach 1:
The turn-aside portion turns aside the first page of the succeeding copy in advance, before the last page of the previous copy is delivered. This preliminary action ensures that when the last page is turned aside and delivered, the first page of the next copy is already in position, preventing overlap and maintaining correct sheet sequence.
Solution Approach 2:
By turning aside the first page of the succeeding copy in advance, the system maintains continuous operation without interruptions. The turn-aside portion continuously manages both the last page of the current copy and the first page of the next copy, ensuring uninterrupted sheet flow and maintaining stable sheet sequence throughout the copying process.
Data Source
AI summary
A post-processing device includes a processing tray on which sheets are to be stacked, a transport portion for transporting, a sheet introduced through an introduction port, a turn-aside portion for turning aside the sheet to delay arrival of the sheet at the processing tray, and a delivery mechanism for delivering the sheets stacked on the processing tray to a delivery tray on a boundary between copies. When a remaining number of sheets of one copy unstacked on the processing tray exceeds a maximum number of stacked sheets that is an amount of sheets stackable on the processing tray, the delivery mechanism delivers a sheet stack of the one copy a plurality of times so as to avoid delivery of only one sheet on a last page of the one copy, and the turn-aside portion turns aside a sheet on a first page to be stacked after delivering the sheet bundle.