COMPACT METAL AND PLASTIC OLDHAM COUPLER WITH AN INTEGRAL GEAR ON AN INPUT PLATE AND A RETRACTION SPLINE ON AN OUTPUT PLATE

摘要

An Oldham coupler assembly for transferring rotary power between two shafts in an imaging device. The Oldham coupler includes an input plate and an output plate made of plastic and a star plate made of metal mechanically coupled and positioned in between the input plate and the output plate. A plastic retraction spline assembly is slidably retained in the output plate and engages with a drive member in an imaging unit. The location of the retraction spline assembly on the output plate allows for an increased diameter leading to increased torsional stiffness. The input plate includes gear teeth integrally molded into the outer circumference thereof helped to decrease the overall width of the Oldham coupler. Pairs of wheels are fastened to inner faces of the input and output plates and used to moveably couple the star plate to the input and output plates.

主权项

1. An Oldham coupler assembly for of transferring rotary power between two shafts, comprising:
an input plate and an output plate made of a first material, the input plate having gear teeth about a circumference of the input plate and the output plate having a spline assembly retained therein and centered about an axis of rotation of the output plate, the spline assembly biased outwardly from an outer face of the output plate and being axially slidable; a star plate made of a second material and positioned in between and mechanically coupled to the input plate and the output plate, the star plate having a first pair of opposed slots and a second pair of opposed slots, the first and second pairs of opposed slots positioned orthogonal to one another; a first pair of wheels rotatably fastened to an inner face of the input plate; and, a second pair of wheels rotatably fastened to an inner face of the output plate, the first pair of wheels rotatably engaging with respective opposed slots in one of the first and second pairs of opposed slots and the second pair of wheels rotatably engaging with respective opposed slots in the other of the first and second pairs of opposed slots, the first and second pairs of wheels moveably coupling the star plate to the input and output plates, respectively.