Foamed Elastic Cleaning Body with Controlled Cell Skeleton and Spiral Geometry

Resolve Bottlenecks,
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions

Solution Overview

Problem

Existing cleaning bodies for image forming apparatuses face challenges in maintaining high cleaning performance and durability due to issues with the protrusion of cell skeletons and spiral pitch/angle configurations of foamed elastic layers, leading to ineffective removal of contaminants from rough surfaces and narrow recesses, and deformation under repeated use.

Innovation Solution

A cleaning body with a foamed elastic layer spirally wound around a core, featuring an end portion cell skeleton protrusion diameter of 50 μm or less, a spiral pitch of 5 mm or less, and a spiral angle of 15° or less, which reduces deformation load and maintains high cleaning performance and durability.

Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles

VSEngineering Contradiction Analysis

1Reliability

If the cell skeleton protrusion diameter is increased to enhance cleaning ability, then cleaning performance improves, but the cleaning maintainability deteriorates due to excessive deformation under repeated use

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvecleaning maintainabilityVSAvoidcleaning ability

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of manufacture

Solution Approach 1:

The patent optimizes the cell skeleton protrusion diameter to 50 μm or less, transforming the physical parameter of the cleaning body surface to achieve balanced cleaning performance and durability. This parameter optimization allows the cleaning body to effectively clean rough surfaces and narrow recesses while maintaining structural integrity during repeated use.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

2Reliability

If the spiral pitch and spiral angle of the foamed elastic layer are increased to improve cleaning coverage, then cleaning area expands, but the deformation load increases reducing durability

Engineering Contradiction:

ImprovedurabilityVSAvoidcleaning coverage

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSArea of stationary object

Solution Approach 1:

The patent optimizes the spiral pitch to 5 mm or less and spiral angle to 15° or less, transforming the geometric parameters of the foamed elastic layer to reduce deformation load while maintaining effective cleaning coverage. This parameter optimization ensures the cleaning body can cover necessary areas without excessive structural stress.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #35Parameter changes

3Reliability

If the foamed elastic layer is made more compliant to access narrow recesses, then cleaning effectiveness in recesses improves, but the structural stability deteriorates leading to deformation

Engineering Contradiction:

Improvestructural stabilityVSAvoidaccess to narrow recesses

Core Design Contradiction:

ReliabilityVSEase of operation

Solution Approach 1:

The patent uses a foamed elastic layer with specific cell structure characteristics, combining the compliance needed for narrow recess access with the structural stability required for durability. The controlled cell skeleton protrusion diameter of 50 μm or less creates a composite structure that is both flexible and stable.

Inventive Principle:

Principle #40Composite materials

Data Source

PatentUS10990058B1Cleaning body, assembly, and image forming apparatus

Publication Date: 2021.04.27 FUJIFILM BUSINESS INNOVATION CORP

AI summary

A cleaning body includes a core and a foamed elastic layer spirally wound around an outer circumferential surface of the core from one end of the core to the other end. An end portion of a cell skeleton protruding from a surface of the foamed elastic layer has an equivalent circle diameter of 50 μm or less. The foamed elastic layer has a spiral pitch R2 of 5 mm or less and a spiral angle θ of 15° or less.