Steering Roller Alignment for Belt Replacement in Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional image forming apparatuses face difficulties in belt replacement due to the inclination of rollers, which increases pressure and makes it challenging to pull out the belt, especially when the roller is positioned to move the belt toward the back side, leading to inefficient maintenance and potential damage during replacement.
Innovation Solution
The image forming apparatus includes a steering unit that adjusts the position of the first roller relative to the second roller based on belt position detection, ensuring the rotational axes become approximately parallel when transitioning to a power-off or power-saving state, facilitating easier belt replacement by aligning the steering roller to the reference position.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the roller performs steering control to reciprocate the belt in the roller axis direction, then the belt position is stabilized and prevented from shifting to the end, but the roller stops in an inclined state which makes belt replacement difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The control unit performs preliminary action by controlling the steering unit to make the rotational axis of the first roller approximately parallel to the rotational axis of the second roller when the image forming apparatus enters the power-off state. This preliminary alignment action is taken before belt replacement is needed, eliminating the inclined state that would otherwise make belt replacement difficult. The roller is proactively positioned in a replacement-friendly state rather than waiting for the replacement operation to begin.
2Reliability
If the roller stops at a position where it inclines to move the belt toward the back side, then steering control is effective for belt positioning, but pressure increases and the belt becomes caught making replacement difficult
Solution Approach 1:
The system performs preliminary alignment by controlling the steering unit to parallelize the rotational axes of the first and second rollers before the power-off state is fully established. This preliminary action ensures that when belt replacement is subsequently performed, the roller is already in a neutral position that prevents belt catching, making the actual replacement operation straightforward despite the reliable positioning function having previously created an inclined state.
Solution Approach 2:
Instead of attempting to remove the belt while the roller is in its operational inclined state, the invention inverts the approach by first changing the roller state to a neutral parallel configuration. This inversion transforms the problem from trying to overcome the inclined state during removal to proactively eliminating the inclined state before removal begins, thereby simplifying the operation.
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 solution allows for smoother belt replacement by preventing the rollers from becoming inclined, reducing the pressure applied during the process and enhancing maintenance efficiency by ensuring the steering roller is aligned parallel to other rollers, thus improving the workability and reducing the risk of damage during maintenance.
Implementation Method 1
a heat sink configured to be in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the belt
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus having a fixing unit, a belt, a conveyance unit, a heat sink, first and second rollers, a belt position detection unit, a steering unit, and a control unit further includes an image forming unit to form a toner image on a recording material, and perform a state transition to a power-off state and to a standby state where image forming by the image forming unit is possible. The belt position detection unit detects a position of the belt. The steering unit swings the first roller relative to the second roller based on a detection result by the belt position detection unit to widthwisely move the belt relative to the first roller. When the image forming apparatus enters the power-off state, the control unit controls the steering unit to make a rotational axis of the first roller approximately parallel to a rotational axis of the second roller.