Magnetic Impact Detection Device for Image Formers
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing impact detection methods for image forming apparatuses during transportation are costly and labor-intensive, and they cannot detect impacts effectively without using electric power, making it difficult to assess damage from external forces.
Innovation Solution
An impact detection device with a mobile body, a supporting section, and a holding section, where the supporting section is elastically deformable and deforms between a fixed end and attachment sections, allowing the mobile body to be magnetically attracted to a pedestal upon exceeding certain acceleration thresholds, enabling impact detection without electric power.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Measurement precision
If accelerometers are attached to image forming apparatuses to measure impact strength, then impact detection accuracy is improved, but manufacturing cost and labor requirements increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The patent uses a disposable indicator sheet with a force-sensitive material that changes color when impacted. This cheap, single-use component replaces expensive, reusable accelerometers, eliminating the need for complex electronics while providing sufficient impact detection information for quality control purposes.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the electronic accelerometer-based mechanical measurement system with a chemical/optical detection system using force-sensitive materials that change color in response to impact forces. This substitution eliminates complex mechanical and electronic components while providing visual impact evidence.
2Measurement precision
If electric power is used to detect impact during transportation, then detection sensitivity is improved, but energy consumption increases and the system becomes inoperable when power is unavailable
Solution Approach 1:
The indicator sheet is self-activating and requires no external power source. The force-sensitive material automatically changes color when subjected to impact forces during transportation, providing passive impact detection that functions independently of electrical power availability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent employs a force-sensitive material that exhibits color changes in response to applied forces. This optical indicator provides visible evidence of impact without requiring electrical power, enabling energy-free detection throughout the transportation process.
3Ease of manufacture
If a simple exterior inspection of packing material is used to assess impact, then cost is reduced, but measurement precision and reliability of impact assessment deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The indicator sheet provides a low-cost alternative to expensive electronic sensors while delivering reliable impact information. The disposable nature of the sheet ensures it remains sensitive throughout transportation and provides definitive visual evidence of impact events.
Solution Approach 2:
The force-sensitive material's color change provides clear, unambiguous visual indication of impact occurrence and intensity. This optical signal is more reliable than exterior packing inspection, as it directly responds to forces applied to the apparatus rather than indirect observations of packaging damage.
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
The device allows for easy and inexpensive detection of impacts applied to image forming apparatuses during transportation, determining the presence and magnitude of impacts by checking magnetic attraction, and can be reused by separating the mobile body from the pedestal, effectively addressing the limitations of existing methods.
Implementation Method 1
the mobile body is magnetically attracted to a pedestal upon exceeding certain acceleration thresholds
Implementation Method 2
the supporting section is elastically deformable and deforms between a fixed end and attachment sections
Data Source
AI summary
According to one embodiment, an impact detection device includes a mobile body having mass, a supporting section, and a holding section. The supporting section includes a fixed end to be fixed to a detection target object, includes an attachment section, to a halfway position in a longitudinal direction of which separated from the fixed end the mobile body is attached, and is deformed between the fixed end and the attachment section if acceleration exceeding a fixed threshold was caused in the mobile body by impact applied to the detection target object. The holding section holds the mobile body moved by the deformation of the supporting section in a moving destination.