Integrated Drive and Detection in Developer Supply Container
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses with developer supply containers experience fluctuations in rotation during developer supply, affecting the accuracy of detecting the stop position and number of rotations, leading to potential errors in developer supply.
Innovation Solution
A developer supply container design where the drive receiving portion, phase detecting portion, and contact surface are formed integrally, reducing rotation fluctuations by direct contact with a rotatable member in the developer receiving apparatus, thereby enhancing the accuracy of drive transmission and phase detection.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the drive receiving portion and roller are positioned away from each other in the thrust direction, then the developer supply container can rotate smoothly, but rotation fluctuation occurs during developer supply affecting detection accuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The drive receiving portion, phase detecting portion, and contact surface are integrated into a single unified structure. This merging eliminates the separation between drive reception and phase detection components, ensuring that both functions operate from the same reference point and reducing rotational fluctuation that affects detection accuracy.
Solution Approach 2:
The contact surface acts as an intermediary between the rotatable member (roller) and the drive receiving portion. By providing a dedicated contact interface, it ensures stable force transmission while maintaining precise phase detection, mediating between the mechanical drive and the detection system.
2Measurement precision
If the drive receiving portion, phase detecting portion, and contact surface are formed integrally, then rotation fluctuation is reduced improving detection accuracy, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The drive receiving portion, phase detecting portion, and contact surface are integrated into a single unified structure. This merging eliminates the separation between drive reception and phase detection components, ensuring that both functions operate from the same reference point and reducing rotational fluctuation that affects detection accuracy.
3Ease of manufacture
If the drive receiving portion and roller are positioned away from each other, then the structure allows for easier manufacturing, but the stop position detection accuracy deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The drive receiving portion, phase detecting portion, and contact surface are integrated into a single unified structure. This merging eliminates the separation between drive reception and phase detection components, ensuring that both functions operate from the same reference point and reducing rotational fluctuation that affects detection accuracy.
Data Source
AI summary
A developer supply container detachably mountable to a developer receiving apparatus, the developer supply container includes an accommodating portion for accommodating a developer; a discharge opening for discharging the developer accommodated in the accommodating portion from the developer supply container; a developer feeding portion for feeding the developer in the accommodating portion toward the discharge opening; a rotatable drive receiving portion for receiving a rotational force; a drive transmitting portion for transmitting the rotational force received by the drive receiving portion to the feeding portion; a portion-to-be-detected for detecting rotation of the drive receiving portion; a contact surface for contacting a rotatable member provided in the developer receiving apparatus; wherein the drive receiving portion, the portion-to-be-detected and the contact are formed integrally.