Self-Excited Vibration of a Lap Spring Clutch Used in Electrophotography Fuser

The self-excited chatter vibration of a spring clutch used in an electrophotography fuser was investigated. From the results of theoretical and experimental investigations, the following points were deduced: (1) the vibration is induced by an asymmetric friction force due to asymmetric contact at the slipping surface; (2) Lissajous figures of the vibration were circular and the vibration was forward-whirling; and (3) calculated results based on the present model qualitatively agreed with experimental observations. Several methods of suppressing vibration were proposed. The spring clutch should be designed such that it has the following characteristics: (a) sufficient damping; (b) low friction coefficient; (c) sufficient gap during the slipping period and perfect fastening when transferring torque; and (d) small static offset displacement. These measures have been used to overcome the abnormal chatter vibration problem.