Movable Driven Pulley Regulator for Belt Tension Control
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Solution Overview
Problem
In mobile-type small-sized printers, the miniaturization of the motor driving the pulley leads to reduced belt tension, causing looseness and tooth skipping due to the driven pulley being drawn towards the driving pulley, and existing stopper mechanisms fail to manage tension effectively, especially in high-temperature environments where the frame expands more than the belt, exceeding motor load limits.
Innovation Solution
A recording apparatus with a movable driven pulley holder and a regulating portion that can move against the biasing force, preventing excessive tension increase by being biased to the driven pulley side, and a coil spring for space-efficient biasing, allowing the slide portion to contact the driven pulley holder and regulate its movement, thereby maintaining belt tension within manageable limits.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the motor is miniaturized for mobile-type printers, then the size of the recording apparatus is reduced, but the belt tension becomes insufficient causing looseness and tooth skipping
Solution Approach 1:
The driven pulley is made movable rather than fixed, allowing it to dynamically adjust its position to maintain optimal belt tension. The pulley can move along the guide rail to compensate for tension variations, resolving the contradiction between using a small motor and maintaining sufficient belt tension.
Solution Approach 2:
The system changes the positional parameter of the driven pulley to maintain appropriate belt tension. By allowing the pulley to move along the guide rail, the system dynamically adjusts the belt length and tension parameters to match the reduced motor capability while preventing looseness.
2Reliability
If a fixed stopper mechanism is used to prevent belt looseness, then tooth skipping is prevented, but excessive belt tension occurs in high-temperature environments causing motor overload
Solution Approach 1:
The stopper mechanism is made movable along the guide rail instead of being fixed to the frame. This allows the stopper to dynamically adjust its position in response to thermal expansion, preventing it from creating excessive tension on the belt while still preventing the driven pulley from moving too far toward the driving pulley.
Solution Approach 2:
The positional parameter of the stopper mechanism is changed from fixed to variable. The stopper can move along the guide rail to maintain an appropriate distance from the driven pulley, adjusting the maximum travel limit dynamically to prevent both excessive tension and belt looseness under varying temperature conditions.
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 configuration effectively suppresses excessive belt tension and reduces the risk of motor overload, ensuring stable operation even under high-temperature conditions by allowing the regulating portion to move against the biasing force, thus preventing belt looseness and tooth skipping.
Implementation Method 1
a coil spring for space-efficient biasing, allowing the slide portion to contact the driven pulley holder and regulate its movement
Implementation Method 2
biased to the driven pulley side by a coil spring
Implementation Method 3
A recording apparatus with a movable driven pulley holder and a regulating portion that can move against the biasing force
Data Source
AI summary
A recording apparatus includes an endless belt wound around a driving pulley and a driven pulley, a driven pulley holder which holds the driven pulley and is movably provided in the wound direction of the endless belt, a frame on which the driven pulley holder is provided, a first biasing portion for biasing the driven pulley holder to a direction away from the driving pulley, and a regulating portion for regulating a movement of a predetermined distance or longer of the driven pulley holder toward the driving pulley side, in which the regulating portion is movably provided in the wound direction of the endless belt with respect to the frame and is biased to the driven pulley holder side by a second biasing portion.