Exposure Head Sealing and Venting for Outgas-Free Imaging
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Solution Overview
Problem
In exposure devices with light emitting elements and lens arrays, sealing the gap between the substrate and holder with a sealant to prevent foreign matter entry can lead to outgas accumulation, while providing a gap for outgas release allows foreign matter ingress, causing image defects.
Innovation Solution
A configuration with sealed gaps between the lens array and holding member, and between the substrate and holding member, featuring at least one hole for communication between the inside and outside of the holding member to allow outgas release without foreign matter entry.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Object-affected harmful factors
If the gap between the lens array and holding member is sealed with sealant, then foreign matter entry is prevented, but outgas accumulation occurs
Solution Approach 1:
The sealing structure is segmented into multiple sections: the gap between the lens array and holding member is sealed, while a separate through-hole is provided in the holding member for outgas release. This segmentation allows the sealing function and venting function to be performed by different structural elements simultaneously.
Solution Approach 2:
The through-hole acts as an intermediary channel that allows outgas to escape from the sealed gap region to the outside environment without compromising the seal integrity. It serves as a dedicated pathway for harmful outgas while maintaining the protective seal against foreign matter.
2Object-generated harmful factors
If a gap is provided for outgas release, then outgas can escape, but foreign matter may enter from outside
Solution Approach 1:
Different regions of the holding member have different functional qualities: the gap between lens array and holding member is sealed to prevent foreign matter entry, while the through-hole is specifically designed to allow outgas release. This local differentiation of functional properties resolves the contradiction between sealing and venting.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If the gap is completely sealed with sealant, then foreign matter cannot enter, but sealant may break through due to outgas pressure
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful outgas is extracted from the sealed gap region through the through-hole in the holding member. By providing this escape pathway, the outgas pressure that could cause sealant breakdown is relieved, thereby maintaining seal integrity and preventing foreign matter entry.
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
Prevents image defects by allowing outgas release while maintaining a sealed environment to exclude foreign matter, thus ensuring image quality.
Implementation Method 1
a gap between a lens array and a holding member that holds the lens array and a gap between a substrate and the holding member are sealed with a sealant
Implementation Method 2
air expanded when an exposure head is heated loses an escape place
Implementation Method 3
an outgas of the sealant filled into the sealed space
Data Source
AI summary
An exposure device includes a substrate on which a plurality of light emitting elements is mounted in a longitudinal direction that is an axial direction of a photoconductor, a lens array that condenses light emitted from the light emitting elements onto the photoconductor, and a holding member that holds the substrate and the lens array, in which a gap between the lens array and the holding member and a gap between the substrate and the holding member are sealed with a sealant, and the holding member has at least one hole that allows outside and inside of the holding member to communicate with each other.