Heating Belt Bush Tilting via Elastic Spring Support
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing image forming apparatuses, such as printers and copiers, face issues with the meandering and tilting of heating belts due to alignment errors and frictional forces, leading to uneven pressure distribution and increased abrasion, which affects the quality of the printed images and the lifespan of the components.
Innovation Solution
The use of bushes with springs and rotating rings supported by fixing flanges at both ends of the heating belt, allowing for two degrees of freedom rotation and distributing the stress evenly, reduces meandering and tilting, thereby minimizing abrasion and maintaining alignment with the transport direction of the print medium.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the heating belt is supported by fixed bushes, then the heating belt is constrained in position, but the heating belt experiences meandering and tilting due to frictional forces and alignment errors, leading to uneven pressure distribution and increased abrasion
Solution Approach 1:
The bush is designed with two degrees of freedom rotation capability, allowing it to dynamically adjust its orientation in response to heating belt movement and frictional forces. This dynamic adaptation eliminates meandering and tilting by enabling the bush to self-align with the heating belt's actual position, thereby maintaining stable pressure distribution and reducing abrasion without compromising position stability
Solution Approach 2:
The invention changes the rotational parameter of the bush from fixed (0 degrees of freedom) to rotatable (two degrees of freedom). This parameter change allows the bush to accommodate alignment variations and frictional forces by rotating to optimal positions, thereby preventing meandering and tilting while maintaining proper heating belt positioning
2Manufacturing precision
If the bush is made fixed to maintain heating belt alignment, then positioning is stable, but stress concentrates on specific points causing increased abrasion and reduced component lifespan
Solution Approach 1:
The rotatable bush design allows the support structure to dynamically respond to operational stresses by rotating to optimal positions. This prevents stress concentration at fixed points by distributing loads across different contact areas during rotation, thereby extending component lifespan while maintaining alignment precision through controlled rotational movement
Solution Approach 2:
The bush automatically adjusts its rotational position in response to frictional forces and alignment variations without external intervention. This self-adjusting mechanism prevents stress concentration by naturally finding optimal contact points, thereby extending component life while maintaining alignment precision through self-service adaptation
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 solution effectively reduces abrasion and stress concentration on the heating belt and its supporting components, enhancing the lifespan and maintaining the alignment of the heating belt, thus improving the quality and reliability of the image forming process.
Implementation Method 1
bushes with springs
Implementation Method 2
frictional forces
Implementation Method 3
heating belt for applying a predetermined heat to the print medium
Data Source
AI summary
A fuser includes a pressure roller to rotate and a heating belt to form a fixing nip with the pressure roller. The heating belt comprises at each end of the heating belt a bush to support the heating belt, a fixing flange to rotatably support the bush, and a plurality of springs to elastically connect between the bush and the fixing flange, to rotate the bush about an axis passing through a first surface of the bush and a second surface of the bush opposite to the first surface of the bush.