Vertical Stapler Biasing Mechanism for Compact MFP
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Solution Overview
Problem
Multifunction peripheral devices face challenges in stapling vertically oriented paper stacks efficiently due to the lack of gravity bias, which increases the device's floor footprint and requires additional mechanisms for proper alignment and biasing.
Innovation Solution
A vertically positioned stapler unit with a biasing mechanism, including a slip clutch and one-way clutch, is integrated to utilize a common paper transport motor for both feeding and biasing papers against the registration surface, ensuring accurate stapling without increasing the device's footprint.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the paper stack is oriented horizontally in the paper chute, then gravity and the weight of the printed pages can bias the paper stack against the registration surface, but the device's floor footprint increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent transitions from horizontal paper stack orientation to vertical orientation, changing the dimensional arrangement of the paper path. This allows gravity to act vertically on the paper stack while the stapler operates in a compact horizontal footprint, resolving the contradiction between reliable alignment and device size.
Solution Approach 2:
The common paper transport motor is designed to perform multiple functions: it drives the feed assist rollers for paper feeding and simultaneously operates the biasing mechanism for aligning the paper stack against the registration surface. This multi-functionality eliminates the need for separate biasing mechanisms, reducing device complexity and footprint.
2Manufacturing precision
If a separate biasing mechanism is added for vertical paper stacks, then proper alignment can be achieved, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The common paper transport motor performs dual functions by driving both the feed assist rollers and the biasing mechanism through a one-way clutch system. This eliminates the need for a separate dedicated biasing motor, reducing device complexity while maintaining precise alignment capability.
Solution Approach 2:
The biasing mechanism is designed to be automatically actuated by the motor's operation through the one-way clutch. When the motor rotates in the biasing direction, the one-way clutch engages to drive the biasing plate, eliminating the need for separate control systems or additional actuators.
3Device complexity
If the common paper transport motor is used for both feeding and biasing, then device complexity is reduced, but the mechanism must handle bidirectional operations
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically switches between two operational modes using a one-way clutch mechanism. The motor rotates in different directions to either feed paper forward or bias the paper stack, and the one-way clutch automatically engages or disengages based on the rotation direction, enabling the single motor to adapt to multiple functions without complex control circuitry.
Solution Approach 2:
The one-way clutch acts as an intermediary mechanism between the motor and the load. It allows the motor to drive the feed assist rollers in one direction while preventing reverse rotation, and simultaneously enables reverse motor rotation to drive the biasing mechanism without directly driving the feed rollers, thus mediating the bidirectional operational requirements.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This configuration allows for efficient stapling of vertically oriented paper stacks by leveraging gravity and the motor-driven biasing mechanism, reducing the device's footprint and ensuring proper alignment and stapling without relying on horizontal gravity bias.
Implementation Method 1
gravity and the weight of the printed pages bias the paper stack against the registration surface of the stapler unit
Implementation Method 2
a feed assist mechanism including feed assist rollers that urge the printed pages into position
Data Source
AI summary
A finisher assembly of a multifunction peripheral includes a vertically oriented stapler and a paper transport motor. When the paper transport motor rotates in the forward direction, printed pages from the print engine of the multifunction peripheral are received via a paper chute and a feed assist roller urges the printed pages into a vertical paper accumulation cache basin. Rotation of the paper transport motor also opens a biasing plate allowing the pages to freely enter the cache basin. Once all of the pages of the print job are in the cache basin, the paper transport motor rotates in the reverse direction causing the biasing plate to bias the printed pages, in the cache basin, against a registration surface of the vertically oriented stapler unit. The pages of the print job are stapled together the stapled print job is moved to the paper tray for collection by a user.