LED Print Bar Mounting Mechanism for Z-Datum Positioning
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing mechanical arrangements for LED print bars in printing systems fail to accurately control the z-direction positioning, leading to misalignment and degraded image quality due to constrained movement and tilt issues, which restrict the precise focusing of the SELFOC lens on the photoreceptor.
Innovation Solution
A mount with open and closed ends featuring curved surfaces allows the LED print bar to move freely, enabling low-inertial movement and accurate settling on the Z datum surface, ensuring proper alignment and focus by allowing the print bar to rock within the mount and engage with pin datums for precise positioning.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the LED print bar is held firmly in a mount mechanism, then the mount mechanism maintains a fixed position, but the print bar cannot settle correctly on the z datum surface resulting in positioning inaccuracy
Solution Approach 1:
The mount mechanism is designed to transition from a static, firmly-held state to a dynamic state where the print bar can rock and settle. The mechanism allows controlled movement during the settling process, enabling the print bar to achieve accurate positioning on the z datum surface while maintaining overall system stability.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the degree of freedom parameter of the mount mechanism. During operation, the mount allows the print bar to have rotational freedom about the x and y axes, enabling it to rock and settle correctly. This parameter change resolves the contradiction by allowing both firm holding and accurate settling.
2Manufacturing precision
If the mount mechanism is given more freedom of movement, then the print bar can settle on the z datum surface, but the high mass of the mount and print bar prevents reliable settling
Solution Approach 1:
The mount mechanism incorporates a dynamic settling process where the print bar is allowed to rock freely about the x and y axes. This dynamic movement enables the heavy print bar to settle reliably on the z datum surface by converting gravitational force into a self-aligning mechanism, resolving the contradiction between mass and settling reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The print bar uses its own weight and the gravitational field to achieve accurate positioning. By allowing the print bar to rock and settle under gravity, the system eliminates the need for additional actuators or complex control mechanisms, enabling high-mass components to settle reliably on their own.
3Stability of the object's composition
If the LED print bar is constrained in the mount with a fixed pivot point, then the mount maintains fixed orientation, but the print bar becomes bound in a tilted orientation causing misalignment
Solution Approach 1:
The mount mechanism is designed with rotational degrees of freedom about the x and y axes, allowing the print bar to rock and adjust its orientation dynamically. This eliminates the fixed pivot point constraint that causes tilted binding, while maintaining stable positioning once settled.
Solution Approach 2:
The system adds rotational degrees of freedom in multiple dimensions (x and y axes) to the mount mechanism. This dimensional expansion allows the print bar to achieve proper alignment by rocking in multiple directions, resolving the contradiction between fixed orientation and accurate alignment.
Data Source
AI summary
A mount for a light emitting diode print bar removably installable in a printer including an open end having a first curved mounting surface and a closed end oppositely disposed relative to the open end and including an opening, the opening having a second curved mounting surface. A projection of the first curved mounting surface substantially coincides with the second curved mounting surface and the light emitting diode print bar is arranged to pivot about the first and second curved mounting surfaces within the mount.