Fuser Roller Heat Pipe Eccentricity Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming apparatuses, fuser apparatuses using thermal fusion toner face challenges in maintaining uniform temperature distribution, leading to uneven toner fixation on sheet materials, which existing solutions like heat pipes only address externally or without considering longitudinal alignment and eccentricity within rollers.
Innovation Solution
A fuser apparatus with a heat pipe integrated inside a hollow roller, supported by a bearing that maintains the heat pipe's position to prevent eccentricity and ensure uniform thermal conductivity, allowing for efficient heat distribution across the roller's surface.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Temperature
If a heat pipe is positioned inside a hollow roller, then temperature uniformity is improved, but the risk of eccentricity and misalignment increases
Solution Approach 1:
A support member is introduced as an intermediary component between the heat pipe and the hollow roller. This support member maintains the heat pipe in proper alignment within the roller, preventing eccentricity while enabling the heat pipe to effectively uniform the temperature distribution. The support member acts as a mediator that resolves the conflict between achieving temperature uniformity and maintaining manufacturing precision.
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the structural parameters of the roller assembly by incorporating a support member that constrains the heat pipe's position. This parameter change (adding the support structure) enables the heat pipe to maintain both thermal effectiveness and positional accuracy, thereby resolving the contradiction between temperature uniformity and alignment precision.
2Temperature
If a heat pipe is used to uniform temperature, then temperature distribution is improved, but the structural complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pipe is nested inside the hollow roller, with the support member providing internal structural reinforcement. This nested configuration allows the heat pipe to be integrated within the existing roller structure rather than adding a separate external component, thereby reducing overall structural complexity while still achieving temperature uniformity.
3Reliability
If pressure is applied between rollers for toner fixation, then fixation quality is improved, but temperature unevenness increases
Solution Approach 1:
The heat pipe serves as a thermal intermediary within the pressure roller, redistributing heat laterally to compensate for temperature unevenness caused by localized pressure application. This allows the pressure roller to maintain both high fixation quality through pressure and uniform temperature distribution through the heat pipe's thermal conduction.
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 ensures uniform temperature distribution across the roller surface, preventing temperature variations during toner fixation and improving warm-up efficiency, even for smaller sheet sizes.
Implementation Method 1
a heat pipe is brought into contact with the surface of a pressure roller, the heat of a roller end conducted from a heat roller is thermally transported by the heat pipe
Implementation Method 2
a first endless body which is heated by a heat mechanism and keeps a temperature obtained by heating
Implementation Method 3
The toner remaining on the sheet material is melted by the heat when the sheet material moves through a fixing area between the rollers
Data Source
AI summary
According to an embodiment of the invention, a heat uniforming member, which has an outer diameter smaller than an inner diameter of a hollow member and in which thermal deformation generated by thermal expansion remains, is set in the inside of the hollow member having a center axis, support members are set to both ends of the hollow member to enable supporting of ends of the heat uniforming member, and an endless body having a uniform thermal distribution is formed by heating the hollow member, the heat uniforming member and the support member at a specified temperature for a specific time and causing the heat uniforming member to adhere closely to an inner wall of the hollow member.