Damper Device Gear Mesh Stability via Positioning Pin
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing damper devices in image forming apparatuses face issues where the rack gear and pinion gear sometimes come out of mesh, especially under great force, leading to a failure in exerting the proper damper function and potentially causing impact, breakage, and component displacement.
Innovation Solution
The solution involves a damper device with a rack gear and a pinion gear that are kept in mesh by a restricting portion, such as a positioning pin, which contacts the rack gear to prevent separation and ensure accurate positioning, ensuring the damper function is maintained even under forceful conditions.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the rack gear is made flexible and the pinion gear is bent to prevent coming out of mesh, then the gears are less likely to come out of mesh, but they still sometimes come out of mesh when great force is applied
Solution Approach 1:
A positioning pin is introduced as an intermediary component between the rack gear and the main body. The positioning pin fits into a positioning hole in the rack gear and a positioning groove in the main body, acting as a mechanical mediator that prevents the rack gear from separating from the pinion gear when great force is applied, thereby ensuring reliable gear mesh stability without requiring complex flexible or bent gear structures
2Reliability
If a positioning pin is added to restrict the rack gear position, then the gears are prevented from coming out of mesh, but the device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning pin is integrated with the support portion structure, and the positioning hole in the rack gear combines multiple functions: it guides the positioning pin, restricts rack gear movement, and maintains gear mesh alignment. By merging these functions into a single structural feature rather than adding separate complex mechanisms, the solution achieves reliable gear mesh stability with minimal increase in device complexity
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 design effectively prevents the rack gear and pinion gear from coming out of mesh, ensuring the damper function is consistently exerted, reducing the risk of impact, breakage, and component displacement, thereby maintaining apparatus stability and preventing image defects.
Implementation Method 1
a damper configured to apply resistance force to rotation of the damper gear
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a main body, a moving part supported movably relative to the main body, a support portion provided in the main body to support the moving part movably, a rack provided in one of the main body and the moving part and having a rack gear, a damper gear provided in the other of the main body and the moving part to be meshed with the rack gear, a damper configured to apply resistance force to rotation of the damper gear, and a restricting portion provided in the other of the main body and the moving part to be in contact with an abutting portion extending along the rack gear in the rack, the restricting portion restricting a position of the rack to prevent the rack gear from separating from the damper gear.