Roller Member With Movable Holding Portion For Sheet Feeding
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional sheet feeding apparatuses face challenges in downsizing the feed roller while maintaining effective sheet conveyance and replaceability, as downsizing can lead to difficulties in conveying sheets to the drawing roller and increasing resilient forces that cause the belt supporting member to jump out or become loosened.
Innovation Solution
The proposed solution involves an endless belt with a holding unit that includes a first holding portion contacting the inner surface and a second holding portion contacting the outer surface of the belt, which is movable due to the belt's resilient force, allowing for controlled attachment and detachment from the roller base, thereby managing the resilient force and preventing the belt from falling out or becoming incorrectly attached.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Volume of moving object
If the feed roller is downsized to reduce the size of the image forming apparatus, then the overall apparatus size is reduced, but the conveying portion length is shortened making it difficult to convey the sheet to the drawing roller
Solution Approach 1:
The feed roller is divided into a roller base and a separate belt supporting member that can be attached and detached. The belt supporting member includes a holding unit with first and second holding portions that can move relative to each other, allowing the elastic belt member to be segmented into conveying and non-conveying portions that can be independently managed.
Solution Approach 2:
The second holding portion is made movable with respect to the first holding portion, allowing dynamic adjustment of the belt supporting member's configuration. This mobility enables the system to adapt between different states (attached/detached) while maintaining adequate conveying length even when the overall roller size is reduced.
2Length of moving object
If the belt supporting member is configured to prolong the circular arc length to maintain conveying portion length, then the conveying capability is improved, but the elastic deformation volume increases causing excessive resilient force that makes the belt supporting member jump out or fall down
Solution Approach 1:
The elastic belt member is segmented into a conveying portion and a non-conveying portion held by the belt supporting member. This segmentation allows the conveying portion to maintain adequate length for sheet transport while the non-conveying portion is contained within the holding unit, preventing excessive elastic deformation and controlling resilient force.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding unit acts as an intermediary structure that holds the non-conveying portion of the elastic belt member. It mediates between the need for adequate conveying length and the need to control resilient force, providing a controlled environment for the belt member that prevents uncontrolled elastic recovery and jumping out.
3Force
If the outer circumferential length of the elastic belt member is prolonged to restrain resilient force, then the resilient force is reduced preventing jumping out, but the belt member may become loosened or drop out after detachment, hampering replaceability
Solution Approach 1:
The second holding portion is designed to be movable with respect to the first holding portion, allowing the belt supporting member to dynamically adapt during attachment and detachment operations. This mobility enables controlled release of the elastic belt member while maintaining adequate tension, preventing both excessive resilient force and loosening/dropping out during replacement.
Solution Approach 2:
The holding unit allows for controlled changes in the physical state of the elastic belt member during attachment and detachment. By adjusting the configuration of the holding portions, the system can control the tension and positioning parameters of the belt member, ensuring it remains properly tensioned during replacement without becoming loose or detached.
4Ease of operation
If the lock portion is designed for easy unlocking to improve replaceability, then the replacement operation is simplified, but the belt supporting member may detach uncontrollably due to resilient force
Solution Approach 1:
The holding unit serves as an intermediary mechanism between the lock portion and the elastic belt member. It provides a controlled interface that allows easy unlocking of the lock portion for replacement while simultaneously managing the resilient force through the movable holding portions, preventing uncontrolled detachment.
Solution Approach 2:
The movable second holding portion automatically adjusts in response to the resilient force of the elastic belt member during detachment. This self-adjusting mechanism works together with the lock portion to provide easy replacement operation while maintaining stable attachment during normal operation, without requiring complex control systems.
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 ensures reliable sheet conveyance, prevents the belt from falling out or being incorrectly attached, and simplifies the replacement process by adjusting the resilient force, thus enhancing the operational efficiency and replaceability of the feed roller.
Implementation Method 1
an endless belt elastically deformable and configured to convey a sheet
Data Source
AI summary
A roller member includes an endless belt elastically deformable and configured to convey a sheet and a holding unit holding the endless belt. The holding unit includes a first holding portion being in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the endless belt, a second holding portion being in contact with an outer circumferential surface of the endless belt and movable with respect to the first holding portion, and an engage portion engaging with an engaged portion. The second holding portion is moved with respect to the first holding portion by resilient force of the endless belt in a state in which the second holding portion is in contact with the outer circumferential surface of the endless belt in response to a disengagement of the engage portion from the engaged portion.