Developer Container Agitating Member Assembly
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Solution Overview
Problem
The assembly of the agitating member in developer containers for electrophotographic image forming apparatuses is complex and inefficient, and the configuration of existing designs obstructs the filling process, leading to longer assembly and filling times.
Innovation Solution
A developer container design featuring a housing with a recessed area for supporting the rotary shaft of the agitating member and a cap that seals the filling port, allowing for easy mounting of the agitating member without bending the shaft and maintaining high filling efficiency by minimizing obstructions to the filling port.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the agitating member is mounted by bending the shaft through an opening of the container body, then the agitating member can be installed, but the assembling process becomes complex and inefficient
Solution Approach 1:
The container body is divided into a housing portion and a cap portion, with the cap being removable. The shaft is supported by the housing and cap, allowing the agitating member to be assembled without bending through the side wall opening. This segmentation enables simpler assembly by distributing the support function across multiple components rather than requiring a complex bending operation through a single opening.
2Reliability
If the bearing and ribs are arranged to overlap the filling port, then the agitating member can be supported, but the filling port area is narrowed and filling efficiency is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support structure is repositioned from a planar arrangement overlapping the filling port to a three-dimensional configuration where the shaft is supported by the housing and cap at locations that do not interfere with the filling port opening. This dimensional repositioning allows the bearing and ribs to be arranged in a way that maintains structural support while preserving the filling port area for efficient developer filling.
Data Source
AI summary
A developer container including: a housing including an inner surface that defines a filling port for filling developer; a cap mounted to the housing and sealing the filling port; and an agitating member having a rotary shaft and configured to be rotated about the rotary shaft to agitate the developer in the housing, wherein a first end portion of the rotary shaft is supported by the inner surface of the housing and the cap mounted to the housing.