Drive Gear Fastening Direction to Prevent Metal Powder Adhesion
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses face issues with image defects and abnormal noise due to foreign matter, such as metal powder, adhering to the drive gear during screw fastening, which cannot be effectively prevented without increasing the size of the driving unit.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus incorporates a driving unit design where the fastening holes are positioned on the outer periphery of the support members, allowing metal powder generated during screw fastening to fall outside the drive gear area, preventing adhesion and maintaining the unit's compact size.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If the screw is inserted and fastened from the outside toward the inside of the support plate, then the support plate is securely fastened, but metal powder generated by fastening adheres to the drive gear causing image defects and abnormal noise
Solution Approach 1:
The patent inverts the conventional fastening direction by fastening the screw from the inside of the support plate toward the outside. This reversal prevents metal powder generated during fastening from adhering to the drive gear, as the powder is directed outward away from the gear rather than inward toward it.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the fastening operation from the conventional outside-in approach and repositions it to an inside-out approach. By separating the fastening direction from the traditional method, the harmful metal powder is extracted from the path toward the drive gear, preventing contamination.
2Object-affected harmful factors
If a fastening region is newly secured on the outer peripheries of the support plates to prevent metal powder adhesion, then metal powder falls outside the drive gear area, but the driving unit increases in size
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of expanding the driving unit to create a separate fastening region on the outer periphery, the patent inverts the fastening direction to inside-out. This allows the fastening operation to occur within the existing support plate structure without requiring additional space or increasing the overall driving unit size.
Solution Approach 2:
The support plate's inner surface is utilized for fastening operations, making the existing structure serve dual purposes: structural support and fastening platform. This eliminates the need for separate outer peripheral fastening regions, maintaining compact dimensions while preventing metal powder adhesion.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the drive gear is enclosed to prevent foreign matter entry, then foreign matter such as dust is blocked, but the driving unit becomes more complex and larger
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by preventing metal powder generation at the source through the inside-out fastening method. By addressing the contamination issue before it occurs, the need for complex enclosing structures is eliminated, as the harmful substance is prevented from entering the system in the first place.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the metal powder prevention function from the fastening operation itself rather than relying on external enclosure structures. By integrating the prevention mechanism into the fastening process direction, the system avoids additional complexity from separate protective enclosures.
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 effectively suppresses image defects and abnormal noise caused by metal powder without increasing the driving unit's size, ensuring efficient operation and maintaining miniaturization.
Implementation Method 1
metal powder generated during screw fastening to fall outside the drive gear area
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a driving unit including a driving source, a drive gear, a first support member that holds the driving source and includes a first support portion that supports one end portion of a rotation shaft of the drive gear, and a second support member that includes a second support portion that supports another end portion of the rotating shaft. The first support member includes a fastening hole disposed in a projection plane obtained by projecting the second support portion in the rotation axis direction of the drive gear. The second support member is disposed upstream of the first support member in a fastening direction, and includes a mounting portion extending so as to be in contact with the first support portion in the projection plane, the mounting portion including an attachment hole, the attachment hole being disposed at a position overlapping the fastening hole.