EP0272517B1 - Vorrichtung zum Antrieb eines photoleitenden Elementes in einem elektrophotographischen Kopiergerät - Google Patents

Vorrichtung zum Antrieb eines photoleitenden Elementes in einem elektrophotographischen Kopiergerät Download PDF

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Publication number
EP0272517B1
EP0272517B1 EP19870117973 EP87117973A EP0272517B1 EP 0272517 B1 EP0272517 B1 EP 0272517B1 EP 19870117973 EP19870117973 EP 19870117973 EP 87117973 A EP87117973 A EP 87117973A EP 0272517 B1 EP0272517 B1 EP 0272517B1
Authority
EP
European Patent Office
Prior art keywords
drum
motor
driving
copier
photoconductive
Prior art date
Legal status (The legal status is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the status listed.)
Expired - Lifetime
Application number
EP19870117973
Other languages
English (en)
French (fr)
Other versions
EP0272517A2 (de
EP0272517A3 (en
Inventor
Nobuo Kasahara
Toshio Nakahara
Current Assignee (The listed assignees may be inaccurate. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation or warranty as to the accuracy of the list.)
Ricoh Co Ltd
Original Assignee
Ricoh Co Ltd
Priority date (The priority date is an assumption and is not a legal conclusion. Google has not performed a legal analysis and makes no representation as to the accuracy of the date listed.)
Filing date
Publication date
Priority claimed from JP18687586U external-priority patent/JPS6392355U/ja
Priority claimed from JP1986202741U external-priority patent/JPH0727478Y2/ja
Application filed by Ricoh Co Ltd filed Critical Ricoh Co Ltd
Publication of EP0272517A2 publication Critical patent/EP0272517A2/de
Publication of EP0272517A3 publication Critical patent/EP0272517A3/en
Application granted granted Critical
Publication of EP0272517B1 publication Critical patent/EP0272517B1/de
Anticipated expiration legal-status Critical
Expired - Lifetime legal-status Critical Current

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Classifications

    • G—PHYSICS
    • G03—PHOTOGRAPHY; CINEMATOGRAPHY; ANALOGOUS TECHNIQUES USING WAVES OTHER THAN OPTICAL WAVES; ELECTROGRAPHY; HOLOGRAPHY
    • G03G—ELECTROGRAPHY; ELECTROPHOTOGRAPHY; MAGNETOGRAPHY
    • G03G15/00—Apparatus for electrographic processes using a charge pattern
    • G03G15/75—Details relating to xerographic drum, band or plate, e.g. replacing, testing
    • G03G15/757—Drive mechanisms for photosensitive medium, e.g. gears

Definitions

  • the present invention relates to a device for driving a photoconductive element which is installed in an electrophotographic copier, particularly a colour electrophotographic copier and to a mechanism for supporting the photoconductive element.
  • a gear is mounted on one end of each of the two drums and these two gears are held mesh with each other.
  • a drive motor mounted in a body of the copier to serve as a drive source is operatively connected to one of the gears by a transmission mechanism which includes a timing belt, whereby the rotations of the two drums are synchronized to each other.
  • a drawback with such an intermeshing gear scheme is that backlash is apt to occur between the two gears to invite vibrations of the drums, causing the toner images of different colours out of register with each other. Furthermore, since a plurality of transmitting means which include a timing belt are used, the arrangement is complicated, the torque is apt to fluctuate, the durability is limited, and, therefore, quality image reproduction is not attainable.
  • an electrostatic copying machine is known from JP-A-56-117 267. According thereto, a device is miniaturized by arranging an outer rotor type driving motor, which rotates a photoreceptor drum, inside of the drum and by using part of the drum as the external wall of the outer rotor of the driving motor.
  • the main drawback of this type of conventional device is that the outer rotor type motor has to be rigidly supported to prevent its vibrations due to rotation from affecting the copier body, resulting in an increase in cost. Furthermore the driving devices which are built in the drums cannot be maintained, assembled or adjusted without time- and labor-consuming work.
  • a first object of the present invention to provide a device for driving a photoconductive element which is installed in an electrophotographic copier, particularly one which is driven by an outer rotor type drive motor, capable of preventing the vibrations of the motor from being imparted to a body of a copier achieved, unlike the proposed driving device, by a simple arrangement and the use of a small number of parts.
  • a stationary portion of the motor and those members which are directly engaged with the motor are made of vibration-damping material, as defined in the apparatus according to the invention defined in claim 1.
  • a color electrophotographic copier includes a photoconductive drum 12 and a lamp 14. Light issuing from the lamp 14 is reflected by a document to become incident to the drum 12 through a lens 16 and a color separating filter 18. Arranged around the drum 12 are a charger 20, a discharger 22, an eraser 24, a magenta developing unit 26, a cyan developing unit 28, a yellow developing unit 30, a pretransfer charger 32, a transfer drum 34, a transferring station 36, a separating station 38, a precleaning charger 40, and a cleaning station 42.
  • a magenta, a cyan and a yellow image are sequentially formed on the drum 12 and, then, sequentially transferred to a paper sheet in register with each other, the paper sheet being fed from a sheet feed section 44. Subsequently, the paper sheet is transported to a tray 48 by way of a fixing section 46.
  • Fig. 2 shows a prior art system for driving the photoconductive drum 12 of the color copier 10.
  • a main motor 50 is mounted in the copier body and operatively connected to the photoconductive drum 12 and the transfer drum 34 through drive transmitting means which is made up of a timing belt 52, a pulley 54, a gear 56, a gear 58 mounted on the drum 12, and a ring gear 60 mounted on the transfer drum 34.
  • This kind of drive transmitting mechanism suffers from a drawback that the photoconductive drum 12 is caused to vibrate due to the vibrations of the various transmitting sections, the fluctuation of torque and other causes, disturbing an image to be formed on the drum 12.
  • Fig. 3 shows another prior art drive system which is elaborated to solve the above-stated problem.
  • the drive system of Fig. 3 uses an outer rotor type drive motor 62 for driving the photoconductive drum 12.
  • a prerequisite with such a drive system is that the motor 62 be rigidly supported in order to prevent its vibrations from being imparted to the photoconductive drum 12.
  • supports 66 adapted to support drum shafts 64 have to be implemented with highly rigid aluminum moldings or the like.
  • a device for driving a photoconductive element embodying the present invention and which uses an outer rotor type motor is shown.
  • This embodiment is applicable to, for example, a color copier as shown in Fig. 1.
  • a photoconductive drum 70 is provided with a front flange 72 and a rear flange 74 at its left and right ends, respectively.
  • the drum 70 is rotatably supported by bearings 78a and 78b which are provided on a drum support shaft 76.
  • An outer rotor type drive motor 80 is disposed inward of the rear flange 74 and between the shaft 76 and the inner periphery of the drum 70.
  • the motor 80 includes an inner wheel portion, or stator, 80a which is press-fitted, keyed or otherwise fixed to the shaft 76.
  • the motor 80 also includes an outer wheel portion, or rotor, 80b which is rotatably supported by a bearing 78c which is in turn provided on the shaft 76. A part of the outer wheel portion 80b is pressed against the inner surface of the rear flange 74 so that the rotation of the motor 80 is transmitted to the drum 70 through the flange 74.
  • the drum support shaft 76 carrying the motor inner wheel portion 80 therewith is fixed at its left end to a support plate 82 by a screw 84, the support plate 82 being mounted to a side panel 86, not shown, of the copier body.
  • the right end of the shaft 76 is fixed to a photoconductive drum unit support 88 by a screw 90 while the support 88 is mounted to a side panel 86 of the copier body.
  • An electrical signal input connector 92 is mounted on the photoconductive drum unit support 88 for delivering a control signal to the motor 80.
  • Leads 94 extending from the connector 92 are connected to the motor inner wheel portion 80a extending through the interior of the drum support shaft 76.
  • spacer rings 96a and 96b are rotatably supported by bearings 78d and 78e which are provided on the drum support shaft 76.
  • the spacer rings 96a and 96b are adapted to define a positional relationship between the photoconductive drum 70 and a transfer drum of the color copier.
  • a compression spring 98 is preloaded between the spacer ring 96a and the front flange 72 of the drum 70.
  • a presser handle 100 is provided on the opposite side of the spacer ring 96a to the compression spring 98.
  • the presser handle 100 serves to urge the rear end (right end as viewed in Fig. 4) of the drum 70 toward the rear flange 74 against the action of the compression spring 98.
  • a single means for pressing the drum 70 is provided in the front end portion of the drum 70, as indicated by a dash-and-dot line in Fig. 4.
  • the outer wheel portion 80b of the outer rotor type drive motor 80 is controllably rotated in response to an electrical signal which is fed from a sequence control circuit built in the copier body to the motor 80 via the connector 92 and leads 94.
  • the motor 80 vibrates as it is caused to rotate.
  • the stationary portion of the motor 80 and those members which are directly engaged with the motor 80, i.e., motor inner wheel portion 80a, drum support shaft 76 and rear flange 74 are made of a vibration-damping material.
  • vibrations due to the rotation of the motor 80 are absorbed by the motor inner wheel portion or stationary portion 80a, shaft 76, and rear flange 74 which is engaged with the motor outer wheel portion 80b, whereby the vibrations are prevented from being imparted to the copier body and drum 70.
  • those portions which interconnect the motor 80 and the copier body, i.e., photoconductive unit support 88 and support plate 82 to which the opposite ends of the drum support shaft 76 are mounted are made of a vibration-damping material in order to eliminate resonance of the vibrations due to the rotation of the motor 80 and the copier body. This prevents vibrations generated by the rotation of the motor 80 from resonating with the copier body and, thereby, frees various portions supported by the copier body from adverse influence of such vibrations.
  • the vibration-damping material stated above may advantageously be implemented with Vibless (tradename) available from Nippon Steel Corporation, Silentalloy (tradename) available from Toshiba, Damplay (tradename) available from Kobe Steep Ltd., or Calma (tradename) available from Nippon Kokan K.K.
  • Vibless tradename
  • Silentalloy tradename
  • Damplay tradename
  • Kobe Steep Ltd. or Calma (tradename) available from Nippon Kokan K.K.
  • Such a vibration-damping material is constituted by two steel sheets with a thin viscous and elastic high polymer sandwiched therebetween and serves to absorb vibration energy while, at the same time, reducing noise.
  • the rear end 70a of the drum 70 and the outer periphery of the associated end of the rear flange 74 are tapered in a complementary configuration so as to make surface-to-surface contact.
  • the two members are rotatable integrally with each other; when the former is pulled out in the axial direction until its rear end 70a becomes clear of the flange end 74a, the transmission of torque therebetween is interrupted.
  • the drum support shaft 76 is inserted in the drum 70 together with the motor 80 until the drum end 70a and flange end 74a abut against each other.
  • the presser handle 100 is tightened against the action of the spring 98 so that the drum end 70a and the flange end 74a are pressed against each other at their tapered surfaces.
  • an intense frictional force acts between the tapered surfaces of the drum end 70a and flange end 74a and, therefore, the driving force output by the motor 80 is surely transmitted to the drum 70 without any loss by way of those tapered surfaces. This eliminates the deviation of colors in the event when a color image is reproduced.
  • drum 70 and the rear flange 74 are simply pressed against each other, the drum 70 can be readily pulled out in the axial direction simply by loosening the presser handle 100 and, hence, centering and other kinds of work inherent in inspection, maintenance and assembly are facilitated.
  • the present invention provides an accurate and reliable drive for driving a photoconductive element, at a low cost.
  • vibrations of an outer rotor type drive motor are intercepted by a simple construction, i.e., by a vibration-damping material which is located at a predetermined position of a route which extends from the motor to a copier body.

Landscapes

  • Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • General Physics & Mathematics (AREA)
  • Discharging, Photosensitive Material Shape In Electrophotography (AREA)
  • Color Electrophotography (AREA)

Claims (1)

  1. Elektrophotographische Vorrichtung mit einem photoleitenden Element (70), einer Achse (76), die das genannte photoleitende Element (70) drehbar lagert, und einer Einrichtung zum Antreiben des genannten photoleitenden Elements (70), mit: mindestens einem sich drehenden Teil (74, 104), das an der genannten Achse (76) drehbar angebracht ist, und einem Motor (80), der einen inneren Radabschnitt (80a) und einen äußeren Radabschnitt (80b) aufweist, der relativ zum genannten inneren Radabschnitt (80a) drehbar ist und an dem bzw. den sich drehenden Teil(en) (74, 104) befestigt ist,
    dadurch gekennzeichnet, daß
    die genannte Achse (76), der genannte innere Radabschnitt (80a) und das bzw. die genannte(n) sich drehende(n) Teil(e) (74, 104) aus einem schwingungsdämpfenden Material hergestellt sind, und daß tragende Teile (82, 88), durch die die Achse (76) innerhalb der elektrophotographischen Vorrichtung getragen ist, aus einem schwingungsdämpfenden Material hergestellt sind.
EP19870117973 1986-12-05 1987-12-04 Vorrichtung zum Antrieb eines photoleitenden Elementes in einem elektrophotographischen Kopiergerät Expired - Lifetime EP0272517B1 (de)

Applications Claiming Priority (4)

Application Number Priority Date Filing Date Title
JP186875/86U 1986-12-05
JP18687586U JPS6392355U (de) 1986-12-05 1986-12-05
JP1986202741U JPH0727478Y2 (ja) 1986-12-25 1986-12-25 電子写真複写機のドラム支持装置
JP202741/86U 1986-12-25

Publications (3)

Publication Number Publication Date
EP0272517A2 EP0272517A2 (de) 1988-06-29
EP0272517A3 EP0272517A3 (en) 1990-03-21
EP0272517B1 true EP0272517B1 (de) 1993-09-01

Family

ID=26504024

Family Applications (1)

Application Number Title Priority Date Filing Date
EP19870117973 Expired - Lifetime EP0272517B1 (de) 1986-12-05 1987-12-04 Vorrichtung zum Antrieb eines photoleitenden Elementes in einem elektrophotographischen Kopiergerät

Country Status (2)

Country Link
EP (1) EP0272517B1 (de)
DE (1) DE3787265T2 (de)

Families Citing this family (2)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPH01291260A (ja) * 1988-05-18 1989-11-22 Shinko Electric Co Ltd 複写機用サーボ装置
EP1003082B1 (de) * 1995-03-07 2002-07-24 Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha Photoleitereinheit mit Innenzahnrad

Family Cites Families (4)

* Cited by examiner, † Cited by third party
Publication number Priority date Publication date Assignee Title
JPS56117267A (en) * 1980-02-20 1981-09-14 Sanyo Electric Co Ltd Electrostatic copying machine
JPS6051101B2 (ja) * 1980-05-27 1985-11-12 株式会社リコー 感光体ドラム駆動装置
JPS57151955A (en) * 1981-03-17 1982-09-20 Fuji Xerox Co Ltd Driving mechanism for image formation member
JPS58116569A (ja) * 1982-09-20 1983-07-11 Toshiba Corp 感光体ドラム支持装置

Also Published As

Publication number Publication date
DE3787265T2 (de) 1994-01-05
DE3787265D1 (de) 1993-10-07
EP0272517A2 (de) 1988-06-29
EP0272517A3 (en) 1990-03-21

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