Developer Container Stopper Layout to Reduce Rattling
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing developer containers for image forming apparatuses experience rattling due to unequal or small spatial allowances between positioning and positioned portions when a driving force is transmitted, affecting stability and capacity.
Innovation Solution
The developer container includes a containing unit, a transport unit, and a receiving unit, with specific rotation stopping portions and stopper portions that ensure proper alignment and reduce rattling by varying spatial allowances, allowing for increased capacity and stable attachment.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Quantity of substance
If a large-capacity HDD is used to store developer cartridges, then storage capacity is improved, but access time deteriorates due to long seek times
Solution Approach 1:
The patent divides the large-capacity HDD into multiple virtual storage areas (virtual cartridges), each logically isolated and accessible independently. This segmentation allows the system to access specific virtual cartridges without seeking through the entire disk, effectively reducing access time while maintaining large storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-organizes developer data into separate virtual cartridges within the HDD, preparing them for quick access. By structuring the storage in advance with clear boundaries and access paths, the system can rapidly locate and access specific cartridges without extensive seeking, thus improving access time while preserving storage capacity.
2Ease of operation
If multiple physical HDDs are used to simulate multiple cartridges, then cartridge accessibility is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent makes a single physical HDD perform multiple functions by creating virtual cartridges within it. The same physical device can store and manage multiple logical cartridges, providing cartridge-like accessibility without requiring multiple physical drives, thus reducing system complexity while maintaining ease of operation.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a virtualization layer (intermediary) between the physical HDD and the user/application. This virtual cartridge management system mediates access requests, translating them into efficient physical disk operations, thereby providing simple cartridge-like access interfaces while the complex multi-HDD simulation is abstracted away.
3Quantity of substance
If a large-capacity HDD is used, then storage capacity is improved, but reliability deteriorates due to longer seek times increasing failure risk
Solution Approach 1:
By segmenting the large HDD into smaller virtual cartridges, the patent reduces the seek distance required to access any specific data. This segmentation limits the maximum seek time for any operation, thereby reducing the window of opportunity for failures and improving reliability while preserving the benefits of large storage capacity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent pre-structures the large HDD into organized virtual cartridges with defined boundaries and access paths. This preliminary organization ensures that any data access operation can be completed within a predictable and limited time frame, reducing exposure to potential failures and improving overall system reliability while maintaining large storage capacity.
Data Source
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AI summary
A developer container includes a second rotation stopping portion that is farther from a receiving unit than a first rotation stopping portion. The first rotation stopping portion and the second rotation stopping portion respectively come into contact with a first rotation stopper portion and a second rotation stopper portion provided on a body of an image forming apparatus. A spatial allowance between the first rotation stopping portion and the first rotation stopper portion is less than a spatial allowance between the second rotation stopping portion and the second rotation stopper portion.