Opening-and-Closing Cover Lock-Lever Mechanism for Shaft Deformation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face issues with the deformation of the rotation shaft due to high pressure applied to the opening-and-closing cover, leading to operational failures in the opening and closing mechanism.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus incorporates a rotatable opening-and-closing cover with a rotation shaft that is held by lock levers, which are locked or unlocked via a pair of holding portions and a lock lever mechanism, reducing deformation by distributing pressure and minimizing noise and operational failures.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the opening-and-closing cover is made rotatable around a support shaft, then the cover can be easily opened and closed, but the rotation shaft deforms under high pressure from the cover
Solution Approach 1:
The rotation shaft is segmented into multiple sections with varying thicknesses, creating a stepped structure. This segmentation allows different portions of the shaft to bear different loads, with thicker sections providing structural support against deformation while thinner sections maintain rotational flexibility for easy operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The rotation shaft features non-uniform local properties through its stepped configuration, where specific sections have increased thickness to locally enhance strength and deformation resistance. This local quality improvement is strategically placed where pressure from the opening-and-closing cover is most significant, while other sections maintain smaller dimensions for ease of rotation.
2Strength
If the rotation shaft is made thicker to prevent deformation, then deformation resistance improves, but the opening-and-closing operation becomes difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The shaft is divided into multiple segments with different thicknesses along its length. The stepped structure ensures that only the necessary portions are thickened to provide deformation resistance, while other segments remain thinner to maintain rotational ease, thus resolving the contradiction between strength and operability.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of uniformly thickening the entire shaft, the invention applies local quality enhancement by increasing thickness only at specific critical sections where deformation occurs under pressure. This localized strengthening maintains overall rotational ease while providing sufficient deformation resistance where needed.
3Device complexity
If a simple rotation mechanism is used, then device complexity is reduced, but operational reliability decreases due to shaft deformation
Solution Approach 1:
The rotation mechanism maintains simplicity in its overall structure while incorporating a stepped shaft design. This segmentation of the shaft into varying thickness sections provides deformation resistance without adding complex components, preserving reliability while avoiding increased device complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the geometric parameter of the shaft (thickness distribution) rather than introducing complex mechanical components. By modifying the shaft's physical parameters to create a stepped configuration, reliability is improved through enhanced deformation resistance while device complexity remains low.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes an opening-and-closing cover that is rotatable around a support shaft with respect to a body of the image forming apparatus. The opening-and-closing cover receives pressure in an opening direction from the body of the image forming apparatus when the opening-and-closing cover is closed and includes a rotation shaft rotatably held, a lock lever, and a pair of holding portions. The lock lever is rotatably disposed on the rotation shaft, is to be locked to or unlocked from a locking portion of the body of the image forming apparatus in conjunction with rotation of the rotation shaft, and includes a pair of held portions at both ends of the lock lever. The pair of holding portions are disposed to sandwich the lock lever from both sides of the lock lever in an axial direction of the rotation shaft and hold the pair of held portions.