Inside Drum Heater for Image Flow Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrographic image forming apparatuses face image flow issues due to moisture absorption on the photosensitive drum surface, leading to reduced electrical resistance and image quality problems, which existing heating configurations struggle to address effectively, especially in high humidity environments and with small-diameter drums.
Innovation Solution
A drum unit with a heater installed inside the photosensitive drum, featuring a heater substrate and aligned resistance elements, supports the heater in a cantilever manner and guides wires through a tubular supporter to ensure efficient heating of the drum without unnecessary heating of adjacent components, allowing for intensive heating of the drum while accommodating small diameters.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If the heater is installed inside the photosensitive drum to heat it intensively, then the heating efficiency is improved, but the device complexity and difficulty of installation increase
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is nested inside the photosensitive drum, with the heating coil wound around an insulation sheet that is inserted into the drum's hollow interior. This nesting arrangement enables intensive heating while containing the heater components within the drum structure.
Solution Approach 2:
The heater is divided into separate components: a heater substrate, heating coil, insulation sheet, and support structure. These segmented parts can be assembled independently and installed as a modular unit, reducing installation complexity.
2Reliability
If the heater is installed inside the photosensitive drum to prevent image flow, then the reliability is improved, but the manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The insulation sheet provides localized thermal insulation at the interface between the heating coil and the photosensitive drum, ensuring that heat is directed precisely where needed while maintaining manufacturing feasibility.
Solution Approach 2:
The insulation sheet acts as an intermediary between the heating coil and the photosensitive drum, mediating heat transfer and protecting the drum surface from direct contact with the heating elements, thereby reducing precision requirements.
3Ease of manufacture
If a heating coil on an insulation sheet is rolled and inserted into the photosensitive drum, then the ease of manufacture is improved, but the stability of the heater position deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The heating coil is extracted from its rolled state and mounted onto a rigid heater substrate, which is then fixed to the drum's support structure. This extraction from the rolled configuration to a mounted configuration stabilizes the heater position.
Solution Approach 2:
The flexible rolled heater configuration is replaced with a rigid mounted heater assembly on a substrate, substituting mechanical flexibility with structural stability to maintain consistent heating position.
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 prevents image flow by vaporizing moisture on the drum surface, maintains image quality, and supports the use of low melting point toners without thermal deterioration, while allowing for compact and precise installation in multifunctional image forming apparatuses.
Implementation Method 1
The heater includes a heater substrate and a plurality of resistance elements. The plurality of resistance elements are aligned in the rotation axis direction and are mounted on the heater substrate.
Implementation Method 2
In order to avoid the occurrence of the image flow, a configuration to heat the photosensitive drum by a heater and to evaporate the moisture adhered on the surface of the photosensitive drum is well known.
Data Source
AI summary
A drum unit includes a photosensitive drum and a heater. The photosensitive drum rotates around a rotation axis extending along a rotation axis direction. The heater is installed inside the photosensitive drum and heats the photosensitive drum. The heater includes a heater substrate and a plurality of resistance elements. The heater substrate extends along the rotation axis direction. The plurality of resistance elements are aligned in the rotation axis direction and are mounted on the heater substrate.