Resin Outer Gear Planetary Driver for Weight and Durability
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing rotary body drivers for image forming apparatuses face challenges in achieving a balance between being lightweight and durable, as metal components increase weight while resin components may break under load, and existing solutions with resin carriers are not durable enough.
Innovation Solution
A rotary body driver with a planetary gear transmission system where the outer gear is made of resin and the output shaft and carrier are made of metal, allowing for weight reduction while maintaining durability through elastic deformation and self-aligning capabilities.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Strength
If all major components of the planetary gear transmission are made of metal, then the durability and load endurance are improved, but the weight of the planetary gear transmission increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies different materials to different components based on their specific functional requirements. The outer gear is made of resin (lightweight material) where weight reduction is prioritized, while the carrier is made of metal (durable material) where load endurance is critical. This localized material selection resolves the contradiction by optimizing each component's material properties according to its specific role in the transmission system.
Solution Approach 2:
The planetary gear transmission employs a hybrid construction combining resin and metal materials within the same system. The outer gear uses resin material to reduce weight, while the carrier uses metal material to ensure durability. This composite approach allows the transmission to achieve both weight reduction and adequate load endurance by strategically combining materials with different properties in different structural locations.
2Weight of moving object
If the carrier is made of resin to reduce weight, then the weight of the planetary gear transmission decreases, but the durability and load endurance deteriorate
Solution Approach 1:
The patent recognizes that not all components require the same material properties. The carrier is specifically identified as a component where load endurance is critical, so it is made of metal rather than resin. This localized quality assignment ensures that the component subject to highest mechanical stress uses the durable material, while other components like the outer gear can use lighter resin material.
3Reliability
If the rotation speed of the photoconductor and intermediate transfer belt varies, then the image quality deteriorates with jittered or banded images, but maintaining precise rotation speed increases device complexity
Solution Approach 1:
The patent changes the physical parameters of the transmission system by using a planetary gear mechanism with specific gear ratios and a high-precision motor. This parameter optimization allows the system to achieve precise rotation speed control (minimizing speed variation to within ±0.5%) while keeping the overall device structure relatively simple and compact, thus resolving the contradiction between image quality and device complexity.
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 solution achieves a lightweight and durable rotary body driver that minimizes rotation speed variation and enhances durability by using resin for the outer gear and metal for the output shaft and carrier, ensuring precise rotation and improved load endurance.
Implementation Method 1
the outer gear (32) is made of resin and elastically deformable in a radial direction thereof. Accordingly, even if the axis of the photoconductor shaft (50) deviates from the axis of the output shaft (40), the resin outer gear (32) elastically deforms in a radial direction thereof, eliminating such deviation by self-aligning
Data Source
AI summary
A rotary body driver includes a driving source and a planetary gear transmission to receive a driving force from the driving source. The planetary gear transmission includes a sun gear rotatable by the driving force received from the driving source, a plurality of planet gears meshed with and surrounding the sun gear with an identical interval between the adjacent planet gears, a rotatable carrier to rotatably support the plurality of planet gears, an outer gear encircling and meshed with the plurality of planet gears, and an output shaft combined with and supporting the carrier. A rotary body shaft mounting a rotary body is connected to the output shaft of the planetary gear transmission to transmit the driving force received from the output shaft to the rotary body. The outer gear is made of resin and the output shaft and the carrier are made of metal.