Rotating Tray Adhesive Bonding for Rigidity
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Solution Overview
Problem
Thinned trays composed of a conveyance cover and an exterior cover, designed to be rotatable and compact for image forming apparatuses, suffer from decreased rigidity leading to bending and rattling issues, affecting operability and texture.
Innovation Solution
The tray is designed with a first component as an exterior part and a second component in contact with the recording medium, featuring grooves and convex portions that extend in the conveyance direction, bonded using adhesive, ensuring high shear strength and rigidity.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Weight of moving object
If the tray is thinned to reduce weight and size, then the image forming apparatus becomes more compact and lighter, but the tray rigidity decreases causing bending and rattling
Solution Approach 1:
The tray is constructed as a composite structure combining a conveyance cover and an exterior cover bonded together through adhesive application at groove portions. This composite construction increases the overall rigidity and strength of the thinned tray while maintaining its lightweight characteristics, preventing bending and rattling issues.
Solution Approach 2:
The tray is divided into separate components (conveyance cover and exterior cover) that are bonded together. The exterior cover includes groove portions that receive adhesive, creating a segmented structure that maintains rigidity while allowing for thin design. This segmentation enables the tray to achieve necessary structural strength without increasing overall weight.
2Volume of moving object
If the tray is thinned to reduce size, then the image forming apparatus can be made smaller, but the tray becomes less rigid causing operability and texture deterioration
Solution Approach 1:
By constructing the thinned tray as a composite of two covers bonded together, the invention achieves the necessary rigidity for acceptable operability and texture while maintaining the reduced volume required for compact image forming apparatus design.
Solution Approach 2:
The exterior cover is designed with groove portions at specific locations where adhesive is applied to bond with the conveyance cover. This local reinforcement strategy enhances rigidity precisely where needed for structural integrity and operability, rather than uniformly thickening the entire tray, thus maintaining compact dimensions.
3Strength
If adhesive is applied to groove portions for bonding, then the tray achieves high shear strength and rigidity, but the manufacturing process becomes more complex
Solution Approach 1:
The groove portions for adhesive application are pre-formed in the exterior cover during molding, and the adhesive application locations are predetermined. This preliminary preparation simplifies the subsequent bonding process and ensures consistent high shear strength without requiring complex manufacturing steps.
Solution Approach 2:
The groove portions act as intermediaries that facilitate adhesive application and distribution. By providing predetermined groove structures, the invention enables reliable bonding with controlled adhesive placement, reducing manufacturing complexity while achieving high bonding strength between the covers.
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 enhances the tray's rigidity without compromising its lightweight design, improving operability and texture by maintaining structural integrity under static loads and reducing noise and impact during rotation.
Implementation Method 1
the first component and the second component are bonded by adhering, with an adhesive, the at least one convex portion, which is put inside the at least one groove portion and the at least one groove portion
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes a main body including an image forming unit to form an image on a recording medium and a tray that rotates between an open state and a closed state relative to the main body, the tray on which the recording medium is placed. The tray includes a first component located exterior to the image forming apparatus in the closed state and a second component in contact with the recording medium on the tray in the open state. The first or second component includes at least one groove portion which extends in a conveyance direction of the recording medium and the other includes at least one convex portion extending in the conveyance direction. The first and second components are bonded by adhering, with an adhesive, the at least one groove portion and the at least one convex portion put inside the at least one groove portion.