Tension Roller Positioning for Belt Replacement
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional electrophotographic image forming apparatuses require complex and potentially damaging procedures for replacing endless belts, which are often damaged due to aging or fatigue, necessitating periodic replacement.
Innovation Solution
A belt unit with a tension roller supported by movably attached bearings and urging members, allowing for easy detachment and replacement of the belt without unscrewing screws, and featuring protrusions to maintain the tension roller's position during replacement, ensuring the axis remains vertical and preventing inclination.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If conventional support units are used with fixed rollers, then the belt can be securely supported during operation, but the belt replacement process becomes complex and potentially damaging
Solution Approach 1:
The support unit employs movable bearings that can shift position along the support member to accommodate belt tension variations. This dynamic adjustment capability allows the belt to be easily removed and reinstalled without complex manipulation, while maintaining secure support during operation through the movable bearing mechanism
2Reliability
If complex attachment and detachment mechanisms are used, then the belt can be securely fixed, but the replacement operation becomes complicated and may damage the belt
Solution Approach 1:
The support unit is divided into separable components: a support member with movable bearings that can be independently detached. This segmentation allows the bearing to be removed from the support member, which in turn allows the belt to be easily accessed and replaced without dealing with complex overall disassembly procedures
Solution Approach 2:
The bearing is designed to be extractable from the support member through a simple detachment process. By removing the bearing, the tension roller can be accessed and the belt can be replaced without requiring complex manipulation of the entire support unit, thus simplifying the replacement operation while maintaining secure fixation
3Ease of operation
If the tension roller is freely movable, then the belt can be easily replaced, but the roller may incline and misalign during the replacement process
Solution Approach 1:
Protrusions are provided on the support member at positions that preliminarily constrain the tension roller before the bearing is fully detached. These protrusions prevent the roller from inclining or misaligning during the replacement operation, ensuring proper orientation is maintained while still allowing easy belt access
Solution Approach 2:
The protrusions act as intermediary elements between the support member and the tension roller. They provide temporary positional constraint during the transition state when the bearing is detached but the belt needs to be accessed, preventing roller inclination without requiring complex alignment procedures
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
Facilitates a simpler and safer belt replacement process, reducing the risk of damage to the belt and improving maintainability by allowing the belt to be detached without altering the alignment of other rollers, thus extending the belt's life and reducing maintenance complexity.
Implementation Method 1
a tension roller applying a tension to the belt
Implementation Method 2
a set of two bearings that are movably provided to respective portions of the support member, the portions corresponding to longitudinal ends of the tension roller, and that rotatably support the tension roller
Implementation Method 3
urging members one of which is provided between the support member and one of the bearings while the other of which is provided between the support member and the other one of the bearings and that urge, to the belt, the tension roller supported by the bearings
Data Source
AI summary
A belt unit, in which a belt can be detached by detaching a tension roller from a frame by detaching at least one of bearing members from the frame in a state where the belt is stretched around multiple rollers, includes restriction parts that restrict the position of an end of the tension roller in a state where the belt is stretched around the multiple rollers and the bearing member is detached from the frame, the end being located adjacent to the bearing member.