Toner Container Projection Design for Mounting Orientation
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Solution Overview
Problem
There is a need for a new form of toner container that can be easily mounted to various image forming apparatuses, addressing the diversity of user demands and ensuring efficient toner supply while preventing unintended shutter rotation.
Innovation Solution
A toner container design featuring a rotatable member, a discharge portion with a projection having specific surface orientations, and a rotation restriction mechanism that ensures the toner container can be oriented for secure mounting, preventing unintended shutter rotation and facilitating easy toner supply.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Adaptability or versatility
If a rotatable member is added to enable flexible mounting orientations, then adaptability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The shutter is designed to be rotatable about a central axis, allowing it to dynamically change orientation between different mounting positions. This dynamic capability enables the toner container to be mounted in multiple orientations while maintaining proper shutter functionality, resolving the contradiction between adaptability and complexity by making a single component multi-functional through rotation.
2Reliability
If a rotation restriction mechanism is implemented to prevent unintended shutter rotation, then reliability is improved, but device complexity increases
Solution Approach 1:
The projection on the discharge portion is specifically designed to interact with the mounting apparatus to restrict unintended rotation of the shutter. By pre-configuring the projection geometry (with asymmetric downward surfaces and an upward surface), the mechanism prevents harmful unintended rotation while allowing intended rotation during mounting, thus improving reliability without requiring additional complex active control systems.
3Ease of operation
If the projection has asymmetric surface orientations to enable proper mounting orientation, then ease of operation is improved, but manufacturing precision requirements increase
Solution Approach 1:
The projection is designed with asymmetric surface orientations - specifically, the first downward surface extends closer to the central axis than the second downward surface, and the upward surface is positioned above the second downward surface. This asymmetric geometry provides tactile and geometric guidance for proper mounting orientation, making operation easier while the precision requirements are managed through the functional design of the asymmetric features rather than extreme dimensional tolerances.
Data Source
AI summary
An attachment for an image forming apparatus includes a projection having an inner peripheral surface centered on a central axis and projecting in a direction of the central axis outside the inner peripheral surface in a radial direction of an imaginary circle centered on the central axis.