U-Turn Guide Stability in Image Recording Apparatus
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image recording apparatuses face issues with the U-turn guide coming off due to resistance from recording media, leading to instability and potential jams, and require additional lock mechanisms that increase component count and complicate manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
An image recording apparatus with a removable U-turn guide that uses first and second engagers to prevent the guide from coming off, where the first engager is on the upper body portion and the second engager is on the guide, ensuring stability and simplicity in structure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a lock mechanism is provided to lock the U-turn guide to the mainbody housing, then the guide stability is improved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The lock mechanism is merged with the guide structure itself. The guide includes a locking protrusion that engages with a locking groove on the mainbody housing, integrating the locking function into the guide rather than adding a separate lock mechanism. This reduces component count while maintaining guide stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The guide performs its own locking function through the self-locking protrusion-groove engagement. When the guide is installed, the protrusion automatically engages with the groove, providing self-locking without requiring additional locking components or complex assembly procedures.
2Ease of manufacture
If the U-turn guide is pivotably supported only at the lower end, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the guide reliability deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is segmented into multiple independent support points: the lower end is pivotably supported while the upper end is supported by a separate support member. This segmentation allows each support point to be manufactured and positioned independently, maintaining ease of manufacture while improving overall guide stability through distributed support.
Solution Approach 2:
The support configuration transitions from single-point (lower end only) to multi-point support by adding upper end support. This dimensional expansion of the support system provides stability in multiple locations along the guide length, preventing the guide from detaching while maintaining simple pivotable support at the lower end.
Data Source
AI summary
There is disclosed an image recording apparatus having a lower body portion, an upper body portion, a guide, a first engager disposed in the upper body portion, and a second engager disposed in the guide. The lower body portion includes a curved feed pathway, an image recording device, and a recording medium feeder which feeds one by one a plurality of recording media as stacked, into the feed pathway and toward the image recording device. The upper body portion includes an image reading device which portion is disposed above the lower body portion and openable with respect to the lower body portion by being displaced upward. The guide which defines at least a part of the feed pathway, and is removably placed on the lower body portion. The first engager is engageable with the second engager so as to prevent the guide from coming off of the apparatus at least in a direction to an external side of the apparatus, while the upper body portion is closed with respect to the lower body portion.