Door Positioning Lever Amplifies Contact Pressure
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face challenges in accurately positioning the open-close door with respect to the casing main body due to mechanical play in the hinge mechanism, leading to reduced accuracy in the relative position of rollers, which necessitates larger components to achieve sufficient pressing force, resulting in upsizing of the apparatus.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus incorporates a locking mechanism and a leaf spring that applies an urging force to increase contact pressure between the positioning contact part and the main-body-side contact part, using a lever mechanism to amplify the force without increasing the size of the urging member, thus maintaining high accuracy in positioning the conveying guide part.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Manufacturing precision
If a coil spring applies urging force near the door-side contact part, then the door-side contact part can be pressed onto the main-body-side contact part, but the apparatus size increases to accommodate a larger coil spring or increase compression amount
Solution Approach 1:
A leaf spring is introduced as an intermediary element between the coil spring and the door-side contact part. The coil spring applies force to the leaf spring, which then transmits and amplifies this force to the door-side contact part through lever action, eliminating the need for a large coil spring while achieving sufficient pressing force for accurate positioning
Solution Approach 2:
The force transmission path is extended by introducing the leaf spring as an additional dimensional element. Instead of directly connecting the coil spring to the contact part, the leaf spring creates a lever mechanism that amplifies force in a different spatial dimension, allowing compact coil spring placement while achieving large pressing force at the contact interface
2Manufacturing precision
If the coil spring compression amount is increased to obtain larger pressing force, then the positioning accuracy improves, but the apparatus size increases
Solution Approach 1:
The leaf spring serves as a force amplifier intermediary, converting moderate coil spring compression into large pressing force at the contact interface through lever mechanical advantage. This eliminates the need for excessive coil spring compression while achieving sufficient positioning force
Solution Approach 2:
The leaf spring is designed as a flexible, dynamically deformable element that bends under load to transmit and amplify force. This dynamic flexibility allows the system to achieve large pressing force with minimal coil spring compression, reducing both apparatus size and mechanism 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 configuration allows for high-accuracy positioning of the conveying roller mechanism with respect to the casing main body while preventing the upsizing of the apparatus, enhancing operational precision and maintaining a compact design.
Implementation Method 1
an urging member configured to apply an urging force to a predetermined part of the door main body
Implementation Method 2
a locking mechanism configured to maintain a state where the door unit is closed
Data Source
AI summary
A door main body of a door unit is swingably supported at a casing main body by a hinge mechanism. A conveying guide part is configured to guide conveying of a recording medium. A positioning contact part is configured to be in contact with a main-body-side contact part when the door unit is closed, thereby positioning the conveying guide part with respect to the casing main body. A locking mechanism is provided on a first side with respect to the positioning contact part. The hinge mechanism is provided on a second side that is opposite to the first side. The urging member is configured to apply an urging force to a predetermined part of the door main body. The predetermined part is located on the second side, thereby increasing contact pressure between the positioning contact part and the main-body-side contact part.