Movable Guide Member Gap Adjustment for Fixing Belt Jam Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
In image forming apparatuses, such as copiers and printers, wrap jams occur due to the printing medium failing to separate from the fixing belt, leading to issues like crumpling and wrinkling, which existing technologies struggle to prevent effectively due to manufacturing and assembly tolerances and non-uniform belt profiles.
Innovation Solution
A jam prevention apparatus with a movable guide member and adjustable gap mechanism, utilizing elastic members and screws to adjust the gap between the guide member and the fixing belt, ensuring proper separation of the printing medium and preventing wrap jams by accommodating various tolerances and maintaining the gap setting stably.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a fixed gap structure is used between the guide member and fixing belt, then the structure is simple, but wrap jams occur due to manufacturing and assembly tolerances and non-uniform belt profiles
Solution Approach 1:
The guide member is made movable relative to the frame along the belt length direction, transforming the static gap structure into a dynamic one. This allows the gap to be adjusted and optimized to accommodate manufacturing tolerances and belt profile variations, preventing wrap jams while maintaining operational simplicity through automatic adaptation.
Solution Approach 2:
The gap distance between the guide member and fixing belt is made adjustable by changing the position parameter of the guide member along the belt length direction. This parameter adjustment enables optimization of the gap to prevent jams caused by tolerance variations and non-uniform belt profiles.
2Reliability
If the gap between guide member and fixing belt is reduced to prevent jams, then separation is improved, but the risk of belt deformation and crumpling increases
Solution Approach 1:
The movable guide member allows dynamic optimization of the gap distance. By adjusting the position of the guide member, the system finds the optimal gap that ensures proper separation of the printing medium from the belt while preventing excessive gap sizes that would cause deformation and crumpling.
3Reliability
If manufacturing and assembly tolerances are minimized to achieve uniform gap, then jam prevention is improved, but manufacturing cost and complexity increase
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of controlling gap uniformity through strict manufacturing tolerances, the guide member is made movable to allow post-assembly adjustment. This dynamic approach compensates for tolerance variations without requiring expensive precision manufacturing or complex assembly control procedures.
Solution Approach 2:
The adjustable gap mechanism allows preliminary adjustment of the guide member position before final operation. This enables optimization of the gap uniformity after assembly, eliminating the need for extremely tight manufacturing tolerances and simplifying the manufacturing process.
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
Effectively prevents wrap jams by adjusting the gap between the guide member and the fixing belt, ensuring the printing medium is properly separated, reducing the risk of jamming and belt deformation, and maintaining the adjusted position through elastic forces.
Implementation Method 1
a movable guide member (131) having a predetermined gap with an end surface of the fixing belt (95)
Data Source
AI summary
An example image forming apparatus includes a main body, a printing engine to be disposed in the main body to form an image on a printing medium, a fixing apparatus including a fixing roller and a fixing belt disposed to face the fixing roller, and a jam prevention apparatus including a fixed frame disposed adjacent to the fixing apparatus, and a movable apparatus to be detachably fastened to the fixed frame through a plurality of adjusting screws, to adjust a gap with the fixing belt according to a fastening direction of the plurality of adjusting screws.