Exposure Housing Venting and Sealing for Toner Heat Isolation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional exposure devices in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses dissipate heat based on light emission duration and amount, affecting toner development, and are positioned close to development devices, requiring effective temperature management.
Innovation Solution
A configuration with a substrate of light emitting elements, a lens array, a housing, a housing support member, and a sealing member to facilitate air circulation and seal gaps, reducing heat influence on the exposure device.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Device complexity
If the exposure device is disposed close to the development device to enable compact design, then the device complexity is reduced, but the temperature from the exposure device affects the toner development quality
Solution Approach 1:
The housing is divided into a first housing portion containing the exposure device and a second housing portion containing the development device, separated by a partition wall. This segmentation isolates the thermal environment of the exposure device from the toner development area, allowing compact overall design while preventing temperature interference with toner development.
2Productivity
If the light emitting elements are operated at high power to improve exposure efficiency, then the productivity is increased, but the heat dissipation becomes insufficient causing temperature rise
Solution Approach 1:
A heat dissipation member is introduced as an intermediary component between the light emitting elements and the housing. This heat dissipation member conducts heat away from the light emitting elements to the housing, enabling high-power operation for improved productivity while maintaining acceptable temperature levels through effective heat management.
3Temperature
If the housing is designed with open structure to facilitate heat dissipation, then the temperature control is improved, but the gaps between housing components allow air leakage and contamination
Solution Approach 1:
A sealing member in the form of a flexible thin film or shell is provided between the first housing portion and the second housing portion. This sealing member maintains reliable sealing to prevent air leakage and contamination while allowing the housing design to maintain adequate openings for heat dissipation, thus balancing both requirements.
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
Effectively dissipates heat from the exposure device, maintaining optimal operating temperatures and minimizing interference with toner development processes.
Implementation Method 1
a lens array including a plurality of lenses that condense the light emitted from the light emitting elements onto the photosensitive member
Implementation Method 2
condense the light emitted from the light emitting elements onto the photosensitive member
Implementation Method 3
forms a space that allow air to circulate between the housing and the exposure device
Implementation Method 4
a sealing member that seals a gap between the housing and the housing support member
Data Source
AI summary
An exposure device includes a substrate on which a plurality of light emitting elements is arranged in the axial direction of the photosensitive member; a lens array including a plurality of lenses that condense the light emitted from the light emitting elements onto the photosensitive member; a housing that has an opening, and holds the substrate and the lens array; a housing support member that is provided integrally on the housing to cover the opening of the housing, and forms a space that allows air to circulate between the housing and the exposure device; and a sealing member that seals a gap between the housing and the housing support member facing each other on one side and the other side of the substrate in a direction orthogonal to the optical axis direction along the optical axis of the lenses and the axial direction.