Printer Housing Continuous Surface Design for Dust Prevention
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Solution Overview
Problem
Ink jet printers face issues with aesthetic appearance and dust entry due to low component accuracy in the housing design, which can be costly to rectify with high precision manufacturing.
Innovation Solution
The design incorporates a housing with a recording-mechanism unit and a reading-mechanism unit that pivots to cover the top, with side surfaces and a rear-surface section forming a continuous plane, and includes a set port covered by an upper-surface cover of equal width, reducing the likelihood of steps and dust entry while maintaining low component accuracy.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Shape
If high precision manufacturing is used to eliminate steps and gaps, then aesthetic appearance is improved, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
A dust-proof cover is introduced as an intermediary component between the housing and the external environment. This cover masks the gaps and steps caused by low manufacturing precision, preventing dust entry while maintaining aesthetic appearance, without requiring high-precision manufacturing of the housing itself
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of investing in expensive high-precision housing manufacturing, the patent uses a simpler, lower-cost dust-proof cover that can be easily manufactured and replaced. This shifts the solution from permanent structural precision to a functional protective component
2Object-affected harmful factors
If high precision manufacturing is used to eliminate gaps, then dust entry is prevented, but manufacturing cost increases
Solution Approach 1:
The dust-proof cover serves as a mediator that blocks the harmful effect of dust entry without requiring the housing itself to be precisely manufactured. It creates a barrier that compensates for manufacturing tolerances in the main structure
Solution Approach 2:
The housing structure is segmented into the main housing body and a separate dust-proof cover. This segmentation allows the cover to specifically address dust prevention while the housing can be manufactured with standard tolerances, reducing overall manufacturing cost
3Ease of manufacture
If component accuracy is maintained at low levels, then manufacturing cost is reduced, but aesthetic appearance deteriorates
Solution Approach 1:
The dust-proof cover acts as a visual mediator that hides the imperfections caused by low component accuracy. It provides a clean, continuous surface appearance while allowing the housing components to be manufactured with lower precision
Solution Approach 2:
The dust-proof cover is designed with a continuous surface and uniform appearance that visually masks the underlying structure. By providing a clean external surface, it conceals the steps and gaps that would otherwise be visible due to low manufacturing accuracy
Data Source
AI summary
A recording apparatus includes: a housing including a recording-mechanism unit provided with a recording device that performs recording on a recording medium, peripheral walls of the housing being formed of a panel section, side-surface sections, and a rear-surface section; and a reading-mechanism unit that reads a document and covers and uncovers the top of the housing. The reading-mechanism unit includes a main body section having a document bed on which a document is mounted and an opening/closing body that covers and uncovers the document bed and has side surfaces. At least the main body section unit is accommodated in the interior of the peripheral walls of the housing when the reading-mechanism unit is closed. Each of the side surfaces of the opening/closing body and a corresponding one of the panel section and the side-surface sections are continuous with each other to form a single plane.