Image Forming Apparatus Door Mechanism Reducing Operator Force
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses require significant operator force to open and close the door, and do not ensure accurate placement of cartridges during installation, leading to inefficiencies in maintenance and operation.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a movable tray and supporting members that align with the door's movement, allowing for reduced force required to open and close the door, and ensures precise positioning of cartridges through a mechanism that connects and disconnects driving, power, and pressing components as the door moves, maintaining contact and disconnection in a coordinated manner.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Force
If conventional door mechanisms are used in image forming apparatus, then the structure is simple, but significant operator force is required to open and close the door
Solution Approach 1:
The door mechanism is transformed from a static rigid structure to a dynamic system with movable components. The tray is designed to move between a retracted position (when door is closed) and an extended position (when door is open), allowing the door to pivot without requiring excessive force to overcome rigid structural resistance.
Solution Approach 2:
The door assembly is segmented into multiple independent components: the door itself, the movable tray, supporting members, and connecting mechanisms. This segmentation allows each component to move and adjust independently, distributing the force requirements across multiple degrees of freedom rather than requiring one component to bear all the force.
2Manufacturing precision
If conventional fixed positioning mechanisms are used, then the structure is simple, but accurate placement of cartridges during installation is not ensured
Solution Approach 1:
The positioning mechanism performs preliminary alignment actions before the cartridge is fully installed. As the door opens and the tray extends, supporting members and positioning structures are already in place to guide the cartridge into its correct position, ensuring accurate placement before the installation is completed.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable tray and supporting members act as intermediary elements between the operator and the cartridge. These intermediaries provide physical guidance and constraint during the installation process, mediating the transfer of the cartridge from the operator's hands to its final positioned state with high precision.
3Force
If components remain connected during door movement, then structural integrity is maintained, but operator force requirement increases
Solution Approach 1:
The connection between components is made dynamic rather than static. The tray is connected to the door through a pivot mechanism that allows the connection to exist in two states: engaged (when door is closed) and disengaged (when door is open). This dynamic connection maintains structural integrity when needed while allowing force reduction when the door needs to be moved.
Solution Approach 2:
The rigid constraint connecting the tray to the door is extracted or removed during the door opening process. The mechanism allows the tray to be disconnected from the door's rigid structure when the door is opened, eliminating the force requirement to move a rigidly connected assembly, while maintaining connection when the door is closed for structural integrity.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus include a door through which a tray carrying a cartridge passes, wherein in interrelation with the door closing operation, (i) movement of the tray from a movable position to an image forming position, (ii) movement of a drive transmission member, for transmitting a driving force to the cartridge from a main assembly, from a first spacing position to a drive-connecting position, (iii) movement of an urging member for urging the cartridge to the main assembly from a second spacing position to a contact position, and (iv) movement of an electric energy supply member, for supplying electric power to the cartridge from the main assembly, from a third spacing position to an electric energy supplying position, are carried out in the order named.