JPH0540619U - Rotor support structure - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] To reduce the rotational runout of the rotating body as much as possible and to support the rotating body with a small number of parts. [Structure] A substantially hemispherical curved portion 8 is integrally formed at the end of the rotating body 1. The protruding portion 8 of the rotating body 1 is rotatably fitted into the substantially hemispherical concave portion 9 provided on the support 2. Lateral runout of the rotating body 1 is restricted by fitting the projecting curved portion 8 and the concave curved portion 9 of the side plate 2.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a support structure for a rotating body having a rotation axis in a substantially horizontal direction, and particularly to a supporting structure for a rotating body such as an electrophotographic photosensitive member that rotates at a high speed.

[0002]

[Prior Art]

 An electrophotographic photosensitive member used in an image forming apparatus as a rotating member will be described below as an example.

The photoreceptor 10 is configured by fitting flanges 12 and 14 to both ends of a cylindrical drum element pipe 11, attaching a shaft 13 to one flange 12, and providing a gear groove 15 to the other flange 14. Alternatively, it is configured by fixing a gear to the shaft 13. The power is transmitted from the gears, so that the rotating body 10 is rotated at a high speed.

However, in the photoconductor 10 having such a configuration, high accuracy is required for the raw pipe 11 for fitting the flanges 12 and 14, the flanges 12 and 14, the shaft 13, and the like. There was a shake due to eccentricity and problems such as turning around. Moreover, since the number of parts that make up these components is large, the device tends to be complicated and large.

In order to solve these drawbacks, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 59-210447 proposes a photosensitive member in which a shaft is integrally formed with a drum element tube. It has the disadvantage of requiring a separate rotating member to support the shaft.

[0006]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 The present invention has been made to solve the above problems, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rotating body support structure capable of supporting a rotating body with a small number of parts while minimizing rotational runout. To provide.

[0007]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The rotating body support structure of the present invention has a substantially hemispherical projecting portion or concave bending portion integrally provided at the end of a rotating body having a rotation axis in a substantially horizontal direction. The convex portion or concave portion of the rotating body is rotatably fitted to the concave portion or convex portion, whereby the above object is achieved.

[0008]

[Action]

 The substantially hemispherical convex or concave portion integrally provided at the end of the rotating body is rotatably supported by the substantially hemispherical concave or convex portion provided on the supporting body, so that another It is possible to support the rotating body without having to arrange a member at the end of this rotating body. Further, by providing the curved or concave portion integrally with the rotating body, there is no problem that the shaft is eccentric when the shaft is attached, unlike the case where the conventional shaft is attached to the flange. Further, the supporting structure can be simplified by providing the protruding portion or the concave portion integrally with the rotating body.

[0009]

【Example】

 Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments.

As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, the rotating body 1 is formed of a hollow cylindrical body having one end closed and the other end opened, and a substantially hemispherical protrusion is formed at one end of the rotating body 1. The bending portion 8 is integrally provided. The outer peripheral surface of the protruding portion 8 is a sliding surface. A flange 7 having a gear groove 5 formed on the outer periphery is fitted to the other end of the rotating body 1.

FIG. 1 shows a state in which the rotating body 1 is incorporated in the apparatus. The protruding portion 8 and the supporting portion 6 of the photoconductor 1 having a rotating shaft in the horizontal direction are supported by the side plates 2 and 3, respectively. Has been. That is, one side plate 2 is provided with a hemispherical concave portion 9 into which the above-mentioned curved portion 8 can be rotatably fitted, and the concave portion 9 rotates the curved portion 8 of the rotating body 1. The other side plate 3 is fitted as much as possible, and a through hole 17 is provided in the other side plate 3, and an end portion of the rotating body 1 is passed through the through hole 17 to support the support portion 6. An elastic member 4 such as a spring provided outside the side plate 3 urges the outer end surface of the flange 7 toward the other side plate 2. The gear 6 formed on the flange is connected to the power transmission means.

Therefore, since the rotating body 1 is biased toward the one side plate 2 side by the elastic member 4, the swinging of the rotating body 1 in the axial direction is restricted and the protruding portion of the rotating body 1 is restricted. The lateral shake of the rotating body 1 is restricted by the fitting of the concave portion 8 of the side plate 2 with the concave portion 8. The curved portion 8 and the concave curved portion 9 have the same radius of curvature, or the radius of curvature of the concave curved portion 9 is set to be slightly larger than the radius of curvature of the convex curved portion 8.

The material forming the rotating body 1 may be a metal or a synthetic resin. Examples of the metal include aluminum, iron, brass, copper, etc., and synthetic resin is a molding resin having excellent dimensional accuracy, such as polyamide, polycarbonate, modified polyphenylene oxide, polybutylene terephthalate. Examples include so-called engineering plastics such as polysulfone, polyether sulfone, polyphenylene sulfide, polyarylate, polyetherimide, polyetheretherketone, and polyimide.

When the electrophotographic photosensitive member 1 is manufactured using the rotating body 1 thus formed, a photosensitive layer is provided on the surface of the rotating body 1. When the rotating body is made of a conductive metal, it is not necessary to provide a conductive layer between the rotating body 1 and the photosensitive layer, and the photosensitive layer is directly provided on the surface of the rotating body 1 to form the photosensitive body 1. be able to. When the rotating body 1 is formed of an electrically insulating metal or synthetic resin, the photosensitive body 1 may be formed by providing a photosensitive layer on the surface of the rotating body 1 via a conductive layer.

Since the photosensitive layer is not formed on the sliding surfaces of both ends of the rotating body 1, the material of the rotating body 1 may be exposed on the surface, or the sliding resistance is reduced. Therefore, a protective layer may be provided to improve wear resistance and the like.

In the above embodiment, the protruding portion 8 is provided on the end portion of the rotating body 1 and the concave bending portion 9 is provided on the side plate 2 which supports the protruding portion 8. A concave curved portion may be provided, and a protruding curved portion may be provided on the side plate 2. Further, the rotating body 1 may be formed by a solid rod. The power transmission structure is not limited to the above configuration.

[0017]

[Effect of the device]

 According to the present invention, it is possible to support a rotating body with a simple structure and with less shake during rotation, and it is possible to simplify the structure of the device. In particular, in the present invention, when the rotating body is small in diameter and lightweight, the sliding resistance due to the rotation can be reduced, which is advantageous.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing a state in which a rotating body of the present invention is incorporated in an apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a conventional support structure for a rotating body.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Rotating body 2 Side plate 3 Side plate 4 Elastic member 8 Protruding part 9 Recessed part

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A substantially hemispherical concave curved portion or projection provided on a support body, wherein a substantially hemispherical convex curved portion or concave curved portion is integrally provided at an end portion of a rotating body having a rotation axis in a substantially horizontal direction. A support structure for a rotating body, wherein a protruding portion or a recessed portion of the rotating body is rotatably fitted in the bending portion.