Mounting mechanism for a strap member
AssigneeFuji Photo Optical Co., Ltd.
InventorYoshiyuki Takase
Life of this patent
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Abstract
A mounting mechanism is disclosed for a strap member in which the orientation of a surface of the strap member, such as a reflecting mirror, is adjustable. In particular, the strap member may be a cylindrical mirror for reflecting light beams to image carriers such as sensitized drums on which images are recorded in an optical reproductive scanning apparatus. The mounting mechanism allows the strap member to be readily fixed in position without causing positional changes of the strap member that would change the magnification and/or cause skew changes in scanning lines when the strap member is a cylindrical mirror in an optical scanning apparatus.
Claims20
A mounting mechanism for a strap member in which the strap member is supportable at both ends with the orientation of at least a surface of the strap member being adjustable, the mounting mechanism comprising:
- a case for housing the strap member, the case having a lengthwise direction, two ends separated in the lengthwise direction, and at least one open side between the two ends for exposing a surface of the strap member in the open side;
- a bearing shaft at each end of the case, each bearing shaft extending in the lengthwise direction of the case;
- a retainer plate at each end of the case, each retainer plate including a through-hole for receiving one of the bearing shafts with the bearing shafts extending outwardly from the retainer plates, the bearing shafts being loosely fitted in the through-holes in a manner so that the bearing shafts are free to rotate in the through-holes, and one of the bearing shafts being loosely fitted with substantial play between the bearing shaft and its associated through-hole so that the bearing shaft may be biased to different positions in the through-hole;
- adjuster plates at each end of the case for adjusting the positions of the bearing shafts, each of the adjuster plates receiving a part of a bearing shaft that protrudes outwardly from a retainer plate;
- a through-hole orthogonal to the axial direction of the bearing shafts in at least one of the bearing shafts that protrudes outwardly from a retainer plate;
- a fixing member for insertion in the orthogonal through-hole;
- and
- an engaging part formed in the adjuster plate for engaging with the fixing member when the fixing member is inserted in the orthogonal through-hole and into at least a part of the engaging part;
- wherein
- the adjuster plates are movable relative to the retainer plates to shift the bearing shafts in at least one direction generally orthogonal to the lengthwise direction of the case, and at least one of the adjuster plates is adjustable in rotation angle about a bearing shaft relative to an associated retainer plate.
In combination, a mirror and a mounting mechanism for adjustment of the orientation of the mirror, the mirror having an elongated surface, and the mounting mechanism comprising:
- a frame in which the mirror is housed, the frame including frame surfaces;
- a mirror case having at least one open side that houses the mirror with its reflecting surface exposed in the open side;
- bearing shafts provided at both ends of the mirror case extending and aligned in the direction of elongation of the elongated mirror;
- a retainer plate at each end loosely fitted on each of the bearing shafts;
- an adjuster plate at each end linked to the part of each bearing shaft that protrudes outwardly from a retainer plate;
- a through-hole orthogonal to the axial direction of the bearing shafts in a part of at least one of the bearing shafts that protrudes outwardly from a retainer plate;
- a fixing member for insertion in the through-hole;
- and
- an engaging part formed in the adjuster plate for engaging with the fixing member when the fixing member is inserted in the through-hole and into at least a part of the engaging part;
- wherein the adjuster plates are mounted in a manner so that they are free to slide relative to the frame surfaces on which the mirror is mounted in a direction orthogonal to the direction of elongation of the elongated mirror and relative to the retainer plates in a direction orthogonal to the slide direction, and so that the mirror case is free to rotate about the bearing shafts.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.