Support Unit Friction Relief for Transport Belt Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
In recording apparatuses with transport belts, increased friction between the belt and the support unit occurs due to foreign substances, leading to vibration, movement inaccuracies, and increased load, especially when using adhesive belts where adhesive can migrate and cause interference.
Innovation Solution
The support unit undergoes friction relief processing, either by reducing its contact area with the transport belt or by applying sliding property improving materials like fluororesin, which can be coated or integrated into the unit, to minimize friction. This can include protruding portions or ridges that reduce contact area and improve sliding properties, effectively addressing the friction issue.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the support unit provides full contact support to the transport belt, then the belt is well-supported and stable, but friction increases due to foreign substances like adhesive
Solution Approach 1:
The support unit is divided into multiple protruding portions that are distributed across the contact area. Instead of a continuous support surface, the support function is segmented into discrete protruding portions, each providing localized support while reducing overall contact area and friction with the transport belt
Solution Approach 2:
The support unit transitions from uniform contact to non-uniform contact distribution. The protruding portions create localized contact points that provide necessary support functionality while minimizing the overall contact area, thereby reducing friction in the regions between protrusions
2Object-affected harmful factors
If the contact area between support unit and transport belt is reduced, then friction decreases, but support coverage is reduced
Solution Approach 1:
The support function is segmented into multiple discrete protruding portions rather than a continuous surface. This segmentation reduces total contact area and friction while maintaining support coverage through the distributed arrangement of protrusions across the support unit
Solution Approach 2:
The protruding portions are designed to be elastically deformable, allowing them to dynamically adapt to the transport belt and medium. This elasticity enables the protrusions to maintain contact and support functionality even with reduced overall contact area, as they can deform to follow the belt surface contours
3Ease of operation
If adhesive is applied to the transport belt for medium attachment, then medium transport is enabled, but adhesive migration causes friction increase
Solution Approach 1:
The harmful effect of adhesive migration is extracted and isolated from the friction-prone contact area between the support unit and transport belt. The adhesive remains confined to the belt surface for medium attachment, while the protruding portions prevent migrated adhesive from creating continuous friction zones
Solution Approach 2:
The adhesive migration, which would normally increase friction, is converted into a beneficial effect by the protruding portions. The migrated adhesive fills the valleys between protrusions, effectively lubricating those areas and further reducing friction while the protrusions themselves maintain minimal contact points
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 proposed solution effectively suppresses the increase in friction force between the transport belt and the support unit, reducing vibration, movement inaccuracies, and operational load, while also reducing the cost of friction relief processing by targeting specific areas, such as the end portions of the adhesive belt.
Implementation Method 1
friction is relieved on at least a part of a portion of the support unit that faces the pressing roller with the transport belt disposed therebetween
Implementation Method 2
a sliding property improving material with which sliding properties with respect to the transport belt can be improved may be disposed in the support unit
Data Source
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3A~4B
AI summary
A recording apparatus (1) which includes a transport belt (10) which transports a medium (P); a pressing roller (12) which presses the medium to the transport belt; and a support unit (18) which can support the transport belt 10), in which at least a part of a portion of the support unit (18), which faces the pressing roller (12) through the transport belt (10) is subjected to friction relief processing. By setting to a recording apparatus (1) with such a configuration, it is possible to suppress an increase in friction force between the transport belt (10) and the support unit which (18) can support the transport belt.