Flat Cable Guide Member for Compact Image Processing Wiring
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing image processing devices face challenges with multiple flat cables connecting the device main body and the document feeder, leading to increased size and noise issues due to cable contact and inefficient wiring.
Innovation Solution
A guide member with separation walls and curving sections is used to route flat cables through defined wiring paths, keeping them spaced apart and preventing contact, allowing for a compact design and reduced noise interference.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If multiple flat cables are arranged alongside each other to connect the device main body and document feeder, then electrical connection between units is established, but the required wiring space is enlarged leading to increased device size
Solution Approach 1:
The flat cables are nested within a wiring harness that is integrated into the guide member structure. The separation walls form channels that contain the cables, effectively nesting them within a compact three-dimensional space rather than allowing them to occupy parallel lateral space. This resolves the contradiction by maintaining reliable electrical connection while dramatically reducing the overall device volume required for wiring.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent transitions from two-dimensional parallel cable arrangement to three-dimensional spatial organization using the guide member with separation walls. Cables are routed through vertically stacked channels defined by the separation walls, utilizing the thickness dimension of the guide member to separate cables that would otherwise require lateral spacing. This dimensional change allows compact wiring while maintaining connection reliability.
2Volume of moving object
If multiple flat cables are tied or stacked into a single bundle to reduce wiring space, then device size is reduced, but noise from one cable enters another cable causing signal interference
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is segmented into multiple independent wiring channels by the separation walls. Each channel provides electromagnetic shielding for the cables within it, preventing noise coupling between adjacent cables. This segmentation approach maintains compact wiring volume while eliminating the harmful noise interference that occurs in bundled configurations.
Solution Approach 2:
The separation walls act as intermediary structures between adjacent flat cables. These walls provide electromagnetic shielding and physical isolation, preventing noise from one cable from entering another cable. The intermediary structure enables compact cable routing while protecting against signal interference.
3Object-affected harmful factors
If flat cables are routed through a guide member with separation walls to prevent contact and reduce noise, then noise interference is reduced and cables remain spaced apart, but the guide member structure becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is designed as a multi-functional component that simultaneously provides: (1) mechanical guidance for cable routing, (2) electromagnetic shielding through separation walls, (3) structural support between the document feeder and device main body, and (4) noise isolation between cables. This universality reduces overall device complexity by consolidating multiple functions into a single component rather than requiring separate elements for each function.
4Adaptability or versatility
If flat cables are arranged to allow rotation between document feeder and device main body, then operational flexibility is improved, but cable contact and noise transmission increase
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member incorporates a rotational joint that allows the document feeder to rotate relative to the device main body while maintaining cable separation. The separation walls dynamically adapt to the rotational position, ensuring cables remain isolated in their respective channels throughout the range of motion. This dynamic design maintains operational flexibility while preventing cable contact and noise transmission.
Data Source
AI summary
An image processing device is provided with a first unit, a second unit attached to the first unit rotatably around a rotational axis, flat cables connecting elements in the first unit with elements in the second unit, and a guide member having wiring paths each defined between two of separations walls, the guide member guiding, from the first unit to the second unit, the flat cables laid through the wiring paths, respectively, in a state spaced apart from each other in a thickness direction thereof without contacting each other, at least one of the separation walls including a curving wall curving to surround the rotational axis, at least one of the flat cables guided to have a curving section along the curving wall, a first extension extending continuously from the curving section to the first unit, and a second extension extending continuously from the curving section to the second unit.