PHOTOCONDUCTOR DRUM, DRIVE SHAFT, PHOTOCONDUCTOR DRUM SYSTEM, IMAGE-FORMING APPARATUS, AND MULTIFUNCTION APPARATUS

• US 20190146401A1
• Filed: 11/09/2018
• Published: 05/16/2019
• Est. Priority Date: 11/10/2017
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Original Assignee: Sharp Kabushiki Kaisha (Hon Hai Precision Industry Co., Ltd.)
• Inventors: BABA, KOUKI, MATSUO, RIKIYA
• Granted Patent: US 10,642,212 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• CPC Class Codes: B65H 27/00 Special constructions, e.g. surface features, of feed or guide rollers for webs rollers in general F16C13/00
• CPC Class Codes: F16C 13/00 Rolls, drums, discs, or the like guide rollers in feeding webs B65H27/00; calender rolls, bearings therefor D21G1/02; rotary drums or rollers for heat-exchange or heat-transfer apparatus F28F5/02; Bearings or mountings therefor
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/751 relating to drum G03G15/757 takes precedence
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 15/757 Drive mechanisms for photosensitive medium, e.g. gears
• CPC Class Codes: G03G 21/1647 Mechanical connection means

Abstract

A photoconductor drum includes a drum body that is cylindrical, and a pair of flanges fitted to or near two axial ends of the drum body, wherein at least one of the flanges includes a plurality of engagement protrusions disposed on an inner circumferential surface of a through-hole for inserting a drive shaft for drivingly rotating the photoconductor drum, the through-hole having a larger radius than the drive shaft.

Claims

1. A photoconductor drum comprising:

a drum body that is cylindrical; and

a pair of flanges fitted to or near two axial ends of the drum body,

wherein at least one of the flanges includes a plurality of engagement protrusions disposed on an inner circumferential surface of a through-hole for inserting a drive shaft for drivingly rotating the photoconductor drum, the through-hole having a larger radius than the drive shaft.

2. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1,

wherein, while the drive shaft is not inserted into the through-hole, a length obtained by subtracting a height of each of the engagement protrusions from the radius of the through-hole is smaller than a radius of the drive shaft, and

the engagement protrusions are deformed to allow insertion of the drive shaft into the through-hole.

3. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein, in each of the flanges, the engagement protrusions are disposed so as to correspond to a single position in an axial direction.

4. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein, in each of the flanges, the engagement protrusions are disposed so as to correspond to a plurality of positions in an axial direction.

5. The photoconductor drum according to claim 4, wherein the engagement protrusions disposed so as to correspond to the plurality of positions in the axial direction include one or more engagement protrusions for each of the plurality of positions in the axial direction.

6. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of engagement protrusions are arranged, on the inner circumferential surface of the through-hole, in a helix that extends in an axial direction of the through-hole.

7. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein the engagement protrusions are disposed in a plurality of positions of each of the flanges in an axial direction, and, for the drive shaft being inserted into the through-hole during assembly, the engagement protrusions have sizes increasing in a leading-end direction of the drive shaft.

8. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein each of the flanges includes ribs, and the engagement protrusions are arranged, in a circumferential direction, in positions corresponding to the ribs.

9. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein two groove portions into which a parallel pin is insertable are formed in each of the flanges, the parallel pin being inserted into a diametral through-hole of the drive shaft.

10. The photoconductor drum according to claim 9,

wherein each of the flanges includes drive protrusions in positions adjacent to, in a circumferential direction, the two groove portions into which the parallel pin is insertable, and

the drive protrusions have lower strength than the engagement protrusions.

11. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein the engagement protrusions are equally distributed in a circumferential direction.

12. The photoconductor drum according to claim 1, wherein the engagement protrusions are three or more engagement protrusions.

13. A photoconductor drum system comprising:

the photoconductor drum according to claim 1; and

a drive shaft for drivingly rotating the photoconductor drum.

27. An image-forming apparatus comprising the photoconductor drum system according to claim 13.

28. A multifunction apparatus comprising the photoconductor drum system according to claim 13.

14. A drive shaft comprising a plurality of engagement protrusions,

the drive shaft being insertable into a pair of through-holes in a pair of flanges of a photoconductor drum, the drive shaft having a smaller radius than each of the pair of through-holes, such that the plurality of engagement protrusions are in contact with inner circumferential surfaces of the pair of through-holes.

15. The drive shaft according to claim 14,

wherein, while the drive shaft is not inserted into the through-holes, a length obtained by subtracting a height of each of the engagement protrusions from a radius of each of the through-holes is smaller than the radius of the drive shaft, and

the engagement protrusions are deformed to allow insertion of the drive shaft into the through-holes.

16. The drive shaft according to claim 14, wherein the engagement protrusions are disposed, for each of the flanges, so as to correspond to a single position in an axial direction.

17. The drive shaft according to claim 14, wherein the engagement protrusions are disposed, for each of the flanges, so as to correspond to a plurality of positions in an axial direction.

18. The drive shaft according to claim 17, wherein the engagement protrusions disposed in the plurality of positions in the axial direction include one or more engagement protrusions in each of the plurality of positions in the axial direction.

19. The drive shaft according to claim 14, wherein the plurality of engagement protrusions are arranged, in an outer circumferential surface of the drive shaft, in a helix that extends in an axial direction of the drive shaft.

20. The drive shaft according to claim 14, wherein the engagement protrusions are disposed so as to correspond to a plurality of positions in an axial direction, and, for each of the through-holes of the flanges into which the drive shaft is inserted during assembly, the engagement protrusions have sizes increasing in a leading-end direction of the drive shaft.

21. The drive shaft according to claim 14, wherein each of the flanges includes ribs, and the engagement protrusions are arranged, in a circumferential direction, in positions corresponding to the ribs.

22. The drive shaft according to claim 14, further comprising:

a parallel pin inserted into a through-hole extending in a diametral direction of the drive shaft.

23. The drive shaft according to claim 22,

wherein each of the flanges includes drive protrusions on rotational-direction side surfaces of two groove portions into which the parallel pin is insertable, and

the drive protrusions have lower strength than the engagement protrusions.

24. The drive shaft according to claim 14, wherein the engagement protrusions are equally distributed in a circumferential direction.

25. The drive shaft according to claim 14, wherein the engagement protrusions are three or more engagement protrusions.

26. A photoconductor drum system comprising:

the drive shaft according to claim 14; and

the photoconductor drum for being drivingly rotated by the drive shaft.

29. A rotatable body comprising at least one flange including a plurality of engagement protrusions disposed on an inner circumferential surface of a through-hole for inserting a drive shaft for drivingly rotating the rotatable body, the through-hole having a larger radius than the drive shaft.

30. A rotatable body system comprising:

the rotatable body according to claim 29; and

a drive shaft for drivingly rotating the rotatable body.

31. A drive shaft comprising a plurality of engagement protrusions,

the drive shaft being insertable into at least one through-hole of at least one flange of a rotatable body, the drive shaft having a smaller radius than the at least one through-hole, such that the plurality of engagement protrusions are in contact with an inner circumferential surface of the at least one through-hole.

32. A rotatable body system comprising:

the drive shaft according to claim 31; and

a rotatable body for being drivingly rotated by the drive shaft.

33. A rotatable body system comprising:

a rotatable body including at least one flange; and

a drive shaft for drivingly rotating the rotatable body, the drive shaft being inserted into a through-hole of the at least one flange, the through-hole having a larger radius than the drive shaft,

wherein the at least one flange includes a plurality of engagement protrusions disposed between the through-hole and the drive shaft.