Development Apparatus Cooling via Housing Box Air Circulation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses face challenges in controlling temperature increases due to friction and heat generation in development apparatuses, leading to developer deterioration and uneven development performance, especially in high-speed machines.
Innovation Solution
A development apparatus with a housing box that includes air take-in and discharge openings and a wind sending member to circulate air through the housing box, which houses drive gears and rotation shafts, effectively cooling the components and reducing temperature rise by dissipating heat generated from friction.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If cooling fans are installed in the development container to cool the developers, then the developer temperature is reduced, but the temperature increase caused by drive portion friction cannot be effectively controlled
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the cooling function from the development container and relocates it to the housing box containing the drive portions. By installing the cooling fan and heat sink in the housing box rather than the development container, the cooling system directly addresses the heat source at the drive portions, preventing heat generation at the source rather than attempting to cool the developers after heat has already been generated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a housing box as an intermediary structure that houses both the drive portions and the cooling system. This housing box acts as a mediator that allows the cooling fan and heat sink to be positioned in optimal locations for cooling the drive portions, while still providing thermal management benefits to the overall system including the developers.
2Productivity
If the rotation speed of stir member and development member is increased for high-speed image forming, then productivity is improved, but heat generation at drive portions increases causing temperature rise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary cooling action by installing the cooling fan and heat sink system in the housing box before the drive portions generate excessive heat. The cooling system is positioned to preemptively cool the drive portions, reducing the temperature rise that occurs during high-speed operation rather than attempting to cool the components after they have overheated.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent converts the harmful effect of friction-generated heat into a beneficial cooling effect by using the housing box to channel cooling air directly over the drive portions. The heat generated by friction is immediately dissipated through the heat sink and cooling fan system, transforming what would be a harmful temperature rise into an controlled thermal management process that enables high-speed operation.
3Productivity
If developers are stirred at high speed to improve development efficiency, then productivity increases, but friction heat causes developer deterioration and uneven development
Solution Approach 1:
The patent extracts the heat generation source (drive portions) from the developer environment by housing them in a separate housing box with an independent cooling system. This separation allows high-speed stirring to proceed efficiently while the cooling system independently manages the thermal load, preventing heat from transferring to the developers and causing deterioration.
Solution Approach 2:
The housing box serves as an intermediary barrier between the high-speed drive portions and the developers. The cooling fan and heat sink in the housing box create a thermal buffer that prevents friction heat from the high-speed stirring mechanism from reaching the developers, thereby maintaining developer performance consistency even during high-efficiency operation.
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
The solution effectively curbs temperature increases in the development apparatus, enhancing developer performance and preventing deterioration by efficiently cooling the drive portions and gear systems, thus maintaining consistent development quality even in high-speed image forming processes.
Implementation Method 1
a wind sending member that takes in the air from the air take-in opening into the housing box and makes the taken-in air pass through the housing box to discharge the air from the air discharge opening
Data Source
AI summary
A development apparatus according to the present invention includes: a stir member that stirs a developer in a development container; a stir gear that rotates the stir member; a stir rotation shaft that connects the stir member and the stir gear to each other; a development member that supplies the developer onto a surface of an image carrier; a development gear that collaborates with the stir gear to form a series of gears and rotates the development member; a development rotation shaft that connects the development member and the development gear to each other; a housing box that houses the stir gear and the development gear, supports the stir rotation shaft and the development rotation shaft, and is provided with an air take-in opening for taking in air and an air discharge opening for discharging the taken-in air; and a wind sending member that takes in the air from the air take-in opening into the housing box and makes the taken-in air pass through the housing box to discharge the air from the air discharge opening.