Paper Pitch Adjustment Method, Image Forming Apparatus, and Computer-Readable Storage Medium

Abstract

The present invention discloses a paper spacing adjustment method, an image forming apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium. The method is applied to an image forming apparatus and includes: executing a printing job; collecting the temperature of a heating element according to a detection period; determining target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the collected result; determining whether the target temperature information is greater than or equal to a first threshold; if the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold, adjusting the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period to a target paper spacing. In an embodiment of the present invention, by periodically collecting the temperature of the heating element during the execution of the printing job, the processing pressure of the image forming apparatus is reduced while ensuring the effectiveness of the collection. When it is detected that the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the paper spacing is adjusted to the target paper spacing, thereby reducing the heating power and avoiding overheating of the image forming apparatus.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to the technical field of image forming apparatuses, and particularly to a paper spacing adjustment method, an image forming apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium.

Background Art

[0002] When an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer executes a printing job, a fixing device is required to heat and melt the toner on the paper, and apply pressure to press the melted toner onto the paper, thereby completing the fixing of the toner. Specifically, a heating element such as a ceramic sheet or a halogen lamp is provided in the fixing device, and thus the toner on the paper can be heated.

[0003] In the prior art, a waiting interval (i.e., paper spacing) is set between two printed papers to avoid overheating of the heating element caused by continuous printing. Specifically, a fixed paper spacing is set to prevent the image forming apparatus from overheating. However, when the image forming apparatus prints narrow paper or small-sized paper, the paper only takes away the heat in the middle area of the heating element when passing through the middle of the heating element, and the heat on both sides of the heating element still accumulates rapidly, resulting in overheating and affecting the image quality, and even damaging the related equipment. Therefore, how to effectively prevent the image forming apparatus from overheating is an urgent problem to be solved currently.

Summary of the Invention

[0004] To solve the above problems, embodiments of the present invention provide a paper spacing adjustment method, an image forming apparatus, and a computer-readable storage medium, which adjust the paper spacing by obtaining the temperature information of the heating element during printing, thereby avoiding overheating of the image forming apparatus and achieving thermal protection of the image forming apparatus.

[0005] In a first aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a paper spacing adjustment method applied to an image forming apparatus, including:

[0006] Execute a printing job;

[0007] Collect the temperature of the heating element according to a detection period;

[0008] Determine the target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the collected result;

[0009] Determine whether the target temperature information is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

[0010] If the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold, adjust the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period to a target paper spacing.

[0011] In a possible implementation, determining the target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the collected result includes:

[0012] Determining a plurality of temperature information of the heating element during the last n pages in the current detection period of printing, where n≥1;

[0013] Performing information processing on the plurality of temperature information;

[0014] Determining the target temperature information of the current detection period according to the result of the information processing.

[0015] In some embodiments, the information processing includes any one of the following methods: taking the average value, taking the maximum value, taking the median, and taking the mode; determining the target temperature information of the current detection period according to the result of the information processing includes:

[0016] When the information processing is taking the average value, calculating the average value of the plurality of temperature information and determining the average value as the target temperature information of the current detection period;

[0017] When the information processing is taking the maximum value, determining the temperature information with the highest temperature among the plurality of temperature information and determining the temperature information with the highest temperature as the target temperature information of the current detection period;

[0018] When the information processing is taking the median, calculating the median of the plurality of temperature information and determining the median as the target temperature information of the current detection period;

[0019] When the information processing is taking the mode, determining the mode of the plurality of temperature information and determining the mode as the target temperature information of the current detection period.

[0020] In a possible implementation, adjusting the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period to the target paper spacing includes:

[0021] Obtaining the paper type information corresponding to the printing job;

[0022] Searching for whether there is an available paper spacing that matches the paper type information;

[0023] If an available paper spacing that matches the paper type information is found, determining the available paper spacing as the target paper spacing;

[0024] If an available paper spacing that matches the paper type information is not found, determining the preset paper spacing as the target paper spacing.

[0025] In a possible implementation, after adjusting the paper spacing to the target paper spacing, the method further includes:

[0026] When it is detected that the target temperature information of the heating element within the first detection period is within a preset range, adjust the paper spacing of the second detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information within the first detection period and the second threshold; wherein, the first detection period is any detection period after the current detection period; the second detection period is the next detection period adjacent to the first detection period; and the second threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0027] In a possible implementation, adjusting the paper spacing of the second detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information within the first detection period and the second threshold includes:

[0028] If the target temperature information is greater than the second threshold, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period by increasing the paper spacing of the first detection period by the fine-tuning paper spacing L;

[0029] If the target temperature information is equal to the second threshold, do not adjust the paper spacing;

[0030] If the target temperature information is less than the second threshold, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period by decreasing the paper spacing of the first detection period by the fine-tuning paper spacing L.

[0031] In a possible implementation, after adjusting the paper spacing of the second detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information within the first detection period and the second threshold, the method further includes:

[0032] Judge whether the adjusted paper spacing is less than the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing;

[0033] If the adjusted paper spacing is less than the Lmin, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period as the Lmin.

[0034] In a possible implementation, the method further includes:

[0035] Judge whether the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing;

[0036] If the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the Lmax, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period as the Lmax.

[0037] In a possible implementation, after adjusting the paper spacing, the method further includes:

[0038] Determine the paper size information corresponding to the printing job;

[0039] Update the available paper spacing corresponding to the paper size information according to the adjusted paper spacing.

[0040] In a second aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an image forming apparatus, including:

[0041] A printing module for executing a printing job;

[0042] An acquisition module for acquiring the temperature of the heating element according to a detection period;

[0043] A processing module for determining the target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the acquired result; for determining whether the target temperature information is greater than or equal to a first threshold;

[0044] A paper spacing adjustment module for adjusting the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period to a target paper spacing if the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0045] In a possible implementation manner, the processing module is specifically configured to:

[0046] Determine a plurality of temperature information of the heating element during the last n pages in the current detection period of printing according to the acquired result, where n≥1;

[0047] Perform information processing on the plurality of temperature information;

[0048] Determine the target temperature information of the current detection period according to the result of the information processing.

[0049] In a possible implementation manner, the paper spacing adjustment module is specifically configured to:

[0050] Obtain the paper size information corresponding to the printing job;

[0051] Search for whether there is an available paper spacing matching the paper size information stored;

[0052] If an available paper spacing matching the paper size information is found, determine the available paper spacing as the target paper spacing;

[0053] If an available paper spacing matching the paper size information is not found, determine a preset paper spacing as the target paper spacing.

[0054] In a possible implementation manner, the paper spacing adjustment module is further configured to:

[0055] When it is detected that the target temperature information of the heating element is within a preset range during the first detection period, adjust the paper spacing for the second detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information during the first detection period and the second threshold; wherein, the first detection period is any detection period after the current detection period; the second detection period is the next detection period adjacent to the first detection period; and the second threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0056] In a possible implementation manner, the paper spacing adjustment module is specifically configured to:

[0057] If the target temperature information is greater than the second threshold, increase the paper spacing of the first detection period by a fine-tuning paper spacing L and determine it as the paper spacing of the second detection period;

[0058] If the target temperature information is equal to the second threshold, do not adjust the paper spacing;

[0059] If the target temperature information is less than the second threshold, decrease the paper spacing of the first detection period by a fine-tuning paper spacing L and determine it as the paper spacing of the second detection period.

[0060] In a possible implementation manner, the paper spacing adjustment module is further configured to:

[0061] Determine whether the adjusted paper spacing is less than the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing;

[0062] If the adjusted paper spacing is less than the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period as the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing.

[0063] In a possible implementation manner, the paper spacing adjustment module is further configured to:

[0064] Determine whether the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing;

[0065] If the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period as the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing.

[0066] In a possible implementation manner, it is characterized in that it further includes: an update module:

[0067] The update module is configured to determine the paper type information corresponding to the printing job after the paper spacing adjustment module adjusts the paper spacing;

[0068] Update the available paper spacing corresponding to the paper type information according to the adjusted paper spacing.

[0069] In a third aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides an image forming apparatus, including: a processor, a memory, and a computer program, wherein the computer program is stored in the memory, and the computer program includes instructions that, when executed, cause the image forming apparatus to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0070] In a fourth aspect, an embodiment of the present invention provides a computer-readable storage medium, which includes a stored program. When the program runs, it controls the device where the computer-readable storage medium is located to execute the method described in the first aspect.

[0071] It should be understood that the technical solutions of the second to fourth aspects of the embodiments of the present invention are consistent with those of the first aspect of the embodiments of the present invention, and the beneficial effects obtained by each aspect and the corresponding feasible implementation manners are similar, and will not be repeated here.

[0072] In an embodiment of the present invention, during the execution of a printing job, the temperature of the heating element in the fixing device is periodically collected. When it is detected that the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the paper pitch is adjusted to the target paper pitch to avoid overheating alarms of the image forming apparatus due to continuous printing.

Description of the Drawings

[0073] To more clearly illustrate the technical solutions of the embodiments of the present invention, the drawings required for the embodiments will be briefly introduced below. Obviously, the drawings in the following description are only some embodiments of the embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0074] Figure 1 It is a flowchart of a paper pitch adjustment method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0075] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a fixing scenario provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0076] Figure 3 It is a flowchart of another paper pitch adjustment method provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0077] Figure 4 It is a schematic structural diagram of an image forming apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention;

[0078] Figure 5 and Figure 6 Both are schematic structural diagrams of another image forming apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention.

Detailed Embodiments

[0079] To better understand the technical solutions of this specification, the embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0080] It should be clear that the described embodiments are only a part of the embodiments of this specification, rather than all the embodiments. Based on the embodiments in this specification, all other embodiments obtained by those of ordinary skill in the art without creative work belong to the scope of protection of the present invention.

[0081] The terms used in the embodiments of the present invention are only for the purpose of describing specific embodiments, and are not intended to limit this specification. The singular forms of "a", "the" and "said" used in the embodiments of the present invention and the appended claims are also intended to include the plural forms, unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

[0082] In the embodiments of the present invention, the temperature of the heating element is periodically collected to reduce the data processing pressure of the image forming apparatus. And when it is detected that the target temperature information in the current detection period is greater than or equal to the first threshold, the paper spacing is adjusted to the target paper spacing, reducing the heating power of the image forming apparatus, thereby reducing the probability of overheating of the image forming apparatus.

[0083] Figure 1 It is a schematic flow chart of a paper spacing adjustment method provided for the embodiments of the present invention. This method can be applied to an image forming apparatus. As Figure 1 shown, the processing steps of this method include:

[0084] Step 101, execute a printing job.

[0085] When an image forming apparatus such as a laser printer executes a printing job, it needs to go through multiple steps such as charging the photoreceptor, exposing, developing, transferring, fixing, and cleaning. Among them, during fixing, the fixing device heats the paper when it passes through, thereby melting the toner on the paper and pressing it into the paper fibers. Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of a fixing scenario provided for the embodiments of the present invention. As Figure 2 shown, the paper passes through the heating element in the fixing device along the arrow direction shown in the figure. The heating element can be implemented in the form of a halogen lamp or a ceramic sheet, etc.

[0086] Step 102, collect the temperature of the heating element according to the detection period.

[0087] When the printing scenario is for narrow paper or other small-sized paper types (for example, an A4 paper printer prints B5-sized paper), when the paper passes through the heating element, it will take away Figure 2 the heat in the area between the two dashed lines shown in

[0088] Therefore, the temperature of the heating element can be collected according to the detection period. The detection period can specifically be one detection period for every x pages printed. For example, temperature collection is performed every three pages printed, thereby reducing the data processing pressure of the image forming apparatus. Each temperature collection can continuously collect the temperature information of the heating element within a period of time, or can collect the temperature information of the heating element at a preset frequency within a preset period of time. Optionally, since the heat of the heating element gradually accumulates with the number of printed pages during printing, therefore, only several temperature information during the last n pages printed within the current detection period of the heating element can be obtained, where n≥1. For example, if one detection period is every 4 pages printed, then the temperature of the heating element is collected every 100 ms from the beginning to the end of page 4. Or, the temperature of the heating element is collected every 100 ms from the beginning of page 4 to the beginning of page 5.

[0089] In some embodiments, it can also be implemented as: one cycle for every n seconds of printing. Each time, only the temperature information within the last m seconds of the current detection period is collected. For example, n = 30 and m = 5, then one detection period is every 30 seconds of printing, and the temperature during the 25th to 30th seconds within each detection period is collected.

[0090] Step 103: Determine the target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the collected result.

[0091] Specifically, according to the collected result in step 103, several temperature information during the last n pages printed within the current detection period of printing of the heating element is determined, where n≥1. Then, information processing is performed on the several temperature information. Then, the target temperature information of the current detection period is determined according to the result of the information processing.

[0092] Among them, the information processing can specifically be any one of taking the average value, taking the maximum value, taking the median, and taking the mode. Then, when the information processing is taking the average value, calculate the average value of the several temperature information, and determine the average value as the target temperature information of the current detection period. When the information processing is taking the maximum value, determine the temperature information with the highest temperature among the several temperature information, and determine the temperature information with the highest temperature as the target temperature information of the current detection period. When the information processing is taking the median, calculate the median of the several temperature information, and determine the median as the target temperature information of the current detection period. When the information processing is taking the mode, determine the mode of the several temperature information, and determine the mode as the target temperature information of the current detection period.

[0093] For example, during the printing of the last n pages, a total of 10 temperature information were collected. After that, the average value of these 10 temperature data can be calculated, and this average value can be used as the target temperature information for the current detection period. Alternatively, the maximum value among these 10 temperature data can be determined as the target temperature information for the current detection period.

[0094] For another example, during the printing of the last n pages, a total of 5 temperature information were collected, which are 206°C, 208°C, 212°C, 207°C, and 212°C respectively. Then, the median value of 208°C among them can be taken as the target temperature information for the current detection period. Alternatively, the mode value of 212°C among them can be used as the target temperature information for the current detection period.

[0095] Step 104, determine whether the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold.

[0096] Among them, the first threshold is used to indicate whether the paper spacing needs to be adjusted. Since different image forming devices have different required temperatures during fixing. Therefore, the first threshold can be specifically set according to the fixing parameters of the image forming device. For example, the first threshold can be set to 205°C.

[0097] In some embodiments, the temperature information of the heating element is collected by setting a temperature sensor near the fixing device. Therefore, when the number of temperature sensors is 1, the target temperature information for the current detection period can be directly determined according to the collection result of this temperature sensor. When there are multiple temperature sensors, the multiple temperature sensors are often set at different positions of the heating element, and the temperatures at various positions of the heating element can be collected. For example, there are a total of 3 temperature sensors, which are respectively set on the left side, the middle, and the right side of the heating element. Therefore, the data collected by the 3 temperature sensors can be processed respectively to obtain 3 corresponding candidate target temperature information, and then the candidate target temperature information with the highest temperature is determined as the target temperature information for the current detection period. For example, after taking the average value of the temperature information collected by the 3 sensors respectively, the obtained temperature information are: 210, 203, and 211 respectively. Then, the highest value of 211 among them can be determined as the target temperature information for the current detection period.

[0098] Step 105, if the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold, then adjust the paper spacing to the target paper spacing. Among them, the paper spacing can be in the form of length or time, and can be mutually converted according to the paper feeding speed of the image forming device. For example, if the paper spacing is 300 mm, then according to the paper feeding speed of the image forming device, the time required to travel 300 mm can be determined as the converted paper spacing.

[0099] In some embodiments, the first threshold can also be implemented in the form of a temperature range. When the target temperature information is greater than the maximum value of the temperature range, the paper spacing can be adjusted to the target paper spacing. For example, the temperature range is 180°C - 250°C. When the target temperature information is greater than 250°C, the paper spacing can be adjusted to the target paper spacing. When the target temperature information is less than or equal to 250°C, no paper spacing adjustment is performed.

[0100] When determining the target paper spacing, the paper type information corresponding to the print job can be obtained first, and then it is checked whether there is an available paper spacing that matches the paper type information stored. Among them, the available paper spacings corresponding to different paper types are stored in the image forming apparatus. The available paper spacing can be obtained according to the historical print data corresponding to the paper type. The available paper spacing is used to reduce the number of adjustments while reducing the current temperature to the appropriate temperature range at the fastest speed to optimize printing. If an available paper spacing that matches the paper type information is found, the available paper spacing is determined as the target paper spacing. If no available paper spacing that matches the paper type information is found, the preset paper spacing is determined as the target paper spacing. The preset paper spacing can be set by the user according to the printing experience of the image forming apparatus. Optionally, the preset paper spacings for each paper type can be the same value.

[0101] Alternatively, different preset paper spacings are set for different paper types. When the difference between the paper type and the maximum paper type supported by the image forming apparatus is greater, the heat on both sides of the heating element is more likely to accumulate. Therefore, the preset paper spacing can be correspondingly larger. For example, if the maximum paper type supported by the image forming apparatus is A3, the preset paper spacing for the A5 paper type can be greater than that for the A4 paper type. The preset paper spacing for the A6 paper type can be greater than that for the A5 paper type.

[0102] In some embodiments, after the paper spacing is adjusted for the first time, the paper spacing in subsequent detection cycles can also be finely adjusted. When the temperature is slightly low, the paper spacing is reduced, and when the temperature is slightly high, the paper spacing is increased, thereby improving the printing efficiency. Specifically, when it is detected that the target temperature of the heating element in the first detection cycle is within the preset range, the paper spacing in the second detection cycle is adjusted according to the relationship between the target temperature information in the first detection cycle and the second threshold. The first detection cycle is any detection cycle after the current detection cycle in step 103 above. The second detection cycle is the next detection cycle adjacent to the first detection cycle. The second threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0103] Specifically, if the target temperature information is greater than the second threshold, the paper spacing in the first detection period is increased by the fine-tuning paper spacing L and then determined as the paper spacing in the second detection period. If the target temperature information is equal to the second threshold, the paper spacing is not adjusted. If the target temperature information is less than the second threshold, the paper spacing in the first detection period is decreased by the fine-tuning paper spacing L and then determined as the paper spacing in the second detection period. Among them, the second threshold can be determined according to the target temperature T0 and the temperature error T. The target temperature T0 is used to indicate the optimal temperature when the image forming apparatus performs fixing. For example, T0 = 200, T = 2, the paper spacing in the first detection period is 500 mm, and L = 20 mm. When the target temperature information in the first detection period is greater than 202 °C, the paper spacing is adjusted to 620 mm, and 620 mm is determined as the paper spacing in the next detection period (the second detection period). When the target temperature information is equal to 202 °C, the paper spacing remains unchanged at 500 mm, so the paper spacing in the second detection period is still 500 mm. When the target temperature information is less than 202 °C, the paper spacing is adjusted to 480 mm, and 480 mm is determined as the paper spacing in the next detection period.

[0104] In some embodiments, the second threshold can also be implemented in the form of a temperature range. Optionally, the range of the second threshold can be determined according to the target temperature T0 and the temperature error T, that is, T0 - T to T0 + T. For example, T = 200, T = 3, then the temperature range corresponding to the second threshold is 197 to 203. When the target temperature information is greater than the maximum value (T0 + T) of this temperature range, the paper spacing in the current detection period is increased by L and then determined as the paper spacing in the next detection period. When the target temperature information is less than the minimum value (T0 - T) of this temperature range, the paper spacing in the current detection period is decreased by L and then determined as the paper spacing in the next detection period.

[0105] When the number of pages of the printing task is large, the total number of corresponding detection periods is also correspondingly large. It may occur that the paper spacing is adjusted too large or too small. Therefore, an upper limit value and a lower limit value can be set to restrict the adjustment range of the paper spacing. Specifically, after determining the paper spacing in the second detection period above and each time the paper spacing is adjusted, it can be first determined whether the adjusted paper spacing is less than the paper spacing lower limit value Lmin. If the adjusted paper spacing is less than the paper spacing lower limit value Lmin, the paper spacing in the second detection period is determined as Lmin. If the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the paper spacing upper limit value Lmax, the paper spacing in the second detection period is determined as Lmax. For example, Lmix is 400 mm and Lmax is 600 mm. When the adjusted paper spacing is 390 mm, the paper spacing actually effective in the next detection period is 400 mm. When the adjusted paper spacing is 610 mm, the paper spacing actually effective in the next detection period is 600 mm.

[0106] In some embodiments, after each execution of the paper pitch fine-tuning, the available paper pitch of the current paper type is updated according to the adjusted paper pitch for reference in the next printing task of the same paper type. When printing the same paper type next time, the available paper pitch can be directly used. While reducing the number of paper pitch adjustments, the temperature of the current heating element is quickly reduced to a suitable temperature range to optimize the printing effect. Specifically, after each adjustment of the paper pitch, first determine the paper type information corresponding to the printing task. Then update the available paper pitch corresponding to the paper type information according to the adjusted paper pitch. Optionally, if there is no stored available paper pitch corresponding to the paper type information, the adjusted paper pitch can be stored as the available paper pitch of the current paper type information.

[0107] In a specific example, the steps for the image forming apparatus to perform paper pitch adjustment are as Figure 3 shown. First, divide the printing task into multiple detection cycles, and collect the temperature information during the last page of each detection cycle. When the printing of the nth detection cycle is completed, first determine whether the paper pitch has been adjusted during this printing job. If not, calculate the target temperature information corresponding to the current detection cycle according to the collected temperature information, and determine whether the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold. If not, do not adjust the paper pitch, keep the paper pitch unchanged, and perform the printing of the next detection cycle. If so, perform the paper pitch adjustment. First, determine whether there is a stored available paper pitch corresponding to the paper type of this job. If so, determine the available paper pitch as the paper pitch of the (n + 1)th detection cycle. If not, determine the preset paper pitch as the paper pitch of the (n + 1)th detection cycle.

[0108] After that, when the printing of the (n + 1)th detection cycle is completed, determine whether the paper pitch has been adjusted during this printing job. Since the first paper pitch adjustment was made during the nth detection cycle, determine whether the target temperature information of the (n + 1)th detection cycle is greater than T0 + T. If so, increase the paper pitch of the (n + 1)th detection cycle by L and use it as the paper pitch of the (n + 2)th detection cycle. If not, determine whether the target temperature information is less than T0 - T. If so, reduce the paper pitch of the (n + 1)th detection cycle by L and use it as the paper pitch of the (n + 2)th detection cycle.

[0109] After the paper pitch adjustment, continue to determine whether the adjusted paper pitch is greater than Lmax. If so, determine Lmax as the paper pitch of the (n + 2)th detection cycle and save it as the available paper pitch of the current paper type. If not, continue to determine whether the adjusted paper pitch is less than Lmin. If so, determine Lmin as the paper pitch of the (n + 2)th detection cycle and save it as the available paper pitch of the current paper type. If not, it can be directly saved as the available paper pitch of the current paper type.

[0110] In some embodiments, when paper jams occur, paper types change, the image forming apparatus enters the sleep state, restarts, the change in ambient temperature is greater than a preset threshold, or paper types change, etc., it can be determined whether to clear the available paper spacing matched with each stored paper type according to the specific settings of the user.

[0111] Corresponding to the above paper spacing adjustment method, an embodiment of the present invention further provides an image forming apparatus. Figure 4 The following is a schematic structural diagram of an image forming apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 4 shown in the figure, the image forming apparatus includes: a printing module 401, a collection module 402, a processing module 403, and a paper spacing adjustment module 404.

[0112] The printing module 401 is used to execute a printing job.

[0113] The collection module 402 is used to collect the temperature of the heating element according to a detection period.

[0114] The processing module 403 is used to determine the target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the collected result.

[0115] The processing module 402 is further used to determine whether the target temperature information is greater than or equal to a first threshold.

[0116] The paper spacing adjustment module 404 is further used to, if the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold, adjust the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period to the target paper spacing.

[0117] In some embodiments, the processing module 403 is specifically used for:

[0118] Determine several temperature information of the heating element during the last n pages in the current detection period of printing according to the collected result, where n≥1. Perform information processing on the several temperature information. Determine the target temperature information of the current detection period according to the result of the information processing.

[0119] In some embodiments, the information processing includes any one of the following methods: taking the average value, taking the maximum value, taking the median, and taking the mode. The processing module 403 is specifically used for:

[0120] When the information processing is to take the average value, calculate the average value of the several temperature information, and determine the average value as the target temperature information of the current detection period.

[0121] When the information processing is to take the maximum value, determine the temperature information with the highest temperature among the several temperature information, and determine the temperature information with the highest temperature as the target temperature information of the current detection period.

[0122] When the information processing is to take the median, calculate the median of several temperature information, and determine the median as the target temperature information for the current detection period.

[0123] When the information processing is to take the mode, determine the mode of several temperature information, and determine the mode as the target temperature information for the current detection period.

[0124] In some embodiments, the paper spacing adjustment module 404 is specifically configured to:

[0125] Obtain the paper type information corresponding to the printing job. Search for available paper spacings that match the paper type information. If an available paper spacing that matches the paper type information is found, determine the available paper spacing as the target paper spacing. If no available paper spacing that matches the paper type information is found, determine the preset paper spacing as the target paper spacing.

[0126] In some embodiments, the paper spacing adjustment module 404 is further configured to:

[0127] When it is detected that the target temperature information of the heating element within the first detection period is within the preset interval, adjust the paper spacing of the second detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information within the first detection period and the second threshold. Wherein, the first detection period is any detection period after the current detection period; the second detection period is the next detection period adjacent to the first detection period. The second threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

[0128] In some embodiments, the paper spacing adjustment module 404 is specifically configured to:

[0129] If the target temperature information is greater than the second threshold, increase the paper spacing of the first detection period by the fine-tuning paper spacing L and determine it as the paper spacing of the second detection period. If the target temperature information is equal to the second threshold, do not adjust the paper spacing. If the target temperature information is less than the second threshold, decrease the paper spacing of the first detection period by the fine-tuning paper spacing L and determine it as the paper spacing of the second detection period.

[0130] In some embodiments, the paper spacing adjustment module 404 is further configured to:

[0131] Judge whether the adjusted paper spacing is less than the paper spacing lower limit value Lmin. If the adjusted paper spacing is less than Lmin, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period as Lmin. Judge whether the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the paper spacing upper limit value Lmax. If the adjusted paper spacing is greater than Lmax, determine the paper spacing of the second detection period as Lmax.

[0132] Figure 4 The image forming apparatus provided by the illustrated embodiment can be used to execute this specification Figures 1 to 3For the technical solution of the method embodiment shown, its implementation principle and technical effect can be further referred to the relevant description in the method embodiment.

[0133] Figure 5 The following is a schematic structural diagram of another image forming apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 5 shown, the image forming apparatus further includes an update module 405.

[0134] The update module 405 is configured to determine the paper type information corresponding to the print job after the paper pitch adjustment module 404 adjusts the paper pitch.

[0135] Update the available paper pitch corresponding to the paper type information according to the adjusted paper pitch.

[0136] Figure 5 The image forming apparatus provided by the shown embodiment can be used to execute the technical solution of the method embodiment described in this specification. Figures 1 to 3 For the technical solution of the method embodiment shown, its implementation principle and technical effect can be further referred to the relevant description in the method embodiment.

[0137] Figure 6 The following is a schematic structural diagram of another image forming apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As Figure 6 shown, the above image forming apparatus may include a processor, a memory, and a computer program, wherein the computer program is stored in the memory, and the computer program includes instructions, when the instructions are executed, the image forming apparatus executes the paper pitch adjustment method provided by the embodiment shown in this specification. Figures 1 to 3 The following is a schematic structural diagram of another image forming apparatus provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As

[0138] As Figure 6 shown, the image forming apparatus is presented in the form of a general-purpose computing device. The components of the image forming apparatus may include, but are not limited to: one or more processors 610, a communication interface 620, and a memory 630, and a communication bus 640 connecting different system components (including the memory 630, the communication interface 620, and the processor 610).

[0139] The communication bus 640 represents one or more of several types of bus architectures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, an Accelerated Graphics Port, a processor bus, or a local bus using any of the various bus architectures. By way of example, such architectures include, but are not limited to, Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MAC) bus, Enhanced ISA bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and Peripheral Component Interconnection (PCI) bus.

[0140] An imaging device typically includes a variety of computer system readable media. These media can be any available media that can be accessed by the imaging device, including both volatile and nonvolatile media, removable and non-removable media.

[0141] The memory 630 may include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. The imaging device may further include other removable / non-removable, volatile / nonvolatile computer system storage media. The memory 630 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules that are configured to carry out the functions of the various embodiments of the present specification.

[0142] A program / utility having a set (at least one) of program modules may be stored in the memory 630. Such program modules include, but are not limited to, an operating system, one or more application programs, other program modules, and program data. Each or some combination of these examples may include an implementation of a network environment. The program modules typically carry out the functions and / or methods of the various embodiments described in the present specification.

[0143] The processor 610 performs various functional applications and data processing by running programs stored in the memory 630, such as implementing the Figures 1 to 3 paper pitch adjustment method provided by the embodiments shown in the present specification.

[0144] The embodiments of the present specification provide a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions that cause the computer to execute the present specification Figures 1 to 3The paper spacing adjustment method provided by the illustrated embodiment.

[0145] The above computer-readable storage medium may employ any combination of one or more computer-readable media. A computer-readable medium may be a computer-readable signal medium or a computer-readable storage medium. A computer-readable storage medium may be, for example, but not limited to, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination of the foregoing. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of the computer-readable storage medium include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as: ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as: EPROM), or a flash memory, an optical fiber, a portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), an optical storage device, a magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination of the foregoing. In this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that can be used by or in conjunction with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0146] The above describes specific embodiments of this specification. Other embodiments are within the scope of the appended claims. In some cases, the acts or steps recited in the claims may be performed in a different order than in the embodiments and still achieve the desired result. Additionally, the processes depicted in the figures do not necessarily require the particular order or sequential order shown to achieve the desired result. In certain embodiments, multitasking and parallel processing are also possible or may be advantageous.

[0147] In the description of this specification, the description with reference to terms such as "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" means that the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of this specification. In this specification, the schematic representations of the above terms do not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials, or characteristics described may be combined in any one or more embodiments or examples in a suitable manner. In addition, without conflict, those skilled in the art may combine and combine the different embodiments or examples described in this specification and the features of the different embodiments or examples.

[0148] In addition, the terms "first" and "second" are used for descriptive purposes only and should not be construed as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly specifying the quantity of the indicated technical features. Thus, features defined with "first" and "second" may explicitly or implicitly include at least one such feature. In the description of this specification, "a plurality of" means at least two, such as two, three, etc., unless otherwise specifically defined.

[0149] Any process or method description, whether in a flowchart or otherwise described herein, can be understood to represent a module, segment, or portion of code including one or more executable instructions for implementing a customized logical function or process. The scope of the preferred embodiments of this specification includes additional implementations, where functions may be performed in a substantially simultaneous manner or in a reverse order according to the functions involved, rather than in the order shown or discussed, as would be understood by those skilled in the art to which the embodiments of this specification pertain.

[0150] Depending on the context, the word "if" as used herein may be interpreted as "when" or "while" or "in response to determining" or "in response to detecting". Similarly, depending on the context, the phrases "if determined" or "if detected (stated condition or event)" may be interpreted as "when determined" or "in response to determining" or "when detected (stated condition or event)" or "in response to detecting (stated condition or event)".

[0151] It should be noted that the devices involved in the embodiments of this specification may include, but are not limited to, personal computers (Personal Computer; hereinafter referred to as: PC), personal digital assistants (Personal Digital Assistant; hereinafter referred to as: PDA), wireless handheld devices, tablet computers (Tablet Computer), mobile phones, MP3 displays, MP4 displays, etc.

[0152] In the several embodiments provided in this specification, it should be understood that the disclosed systems, devices, and methods may be implemented in other ways. For example, the device embodiments described above are merely illustrative. For example, the division of the units is only a logical function division, and there may be other division methods in actual implementation. For example, multiple units or components may be combined or integrated into another system, or some features may be ignored or not executed. Another point is that the displayed or discussed couplings or direct couplings or communication connections to each other may be through some interfaces, and the indirect couplings or communication connections of the devices or units may be in electrical, mechanical, or other forms.

[0153] In addition, the functional units in the embodiments of this specification may be integrated into one processing unit, may exist separately as individual physical units, or two or more units may be integrated into one unit. The above-mentioned integrated units may be implemented in the form of hardware, or in the form of a combination of hardware and software functional units.

[0154] The above-mentioned integrated units implemented in the form of software functional units may be stored in a computer-readable storage medium. The above-mentioned software functional units stored in a storage medium include several instructions for causing a computer device (which may be a personal computer, a connector, or a network device, etc.) or a processor to execute some steps of the methods described in the embodiments of this specification. The foregoing storage medium includes: various media that can store program codes, such as a USB flash drive, a mobile hard disk, a read-only memory (hereinafter referred to as ROM), a random access memory (hereinafter referred to as RAM), a magnetic disk, or an optical disc.

[0155] The above are only the preferred embodiments of this specification and are not intended to limit this specification. Any modifications, equivalent replacements, improvements, etc. made within the spirit and principles of this specification shall be included within the scope of protection of this specification.

Claims

1. A method for adjusting paper spacing, characterized in that, The method is applied to an image forming apparatus and includes: Performing a printing job; Collecting the temperature of a heating element according to a detection period; Determining target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the collected result; Judging whether the paper pitch has been adjusted during the execution of the printing job; If not, when the target temperature information is greater than or equal to a first threshold, adjusting the paper pitch of the next detection period of the current detection period to a target paper pitch; otherwise, When the target temperature information is within a preset range, adjusting the paper pitch of the next detection period of the current detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information in the current detection period and a second threshold; wherein, the second threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

2. The method according to claim 1, wherein The determining the target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection period according to the collected result includes: Determining a plurality of temperature information of the heating element during the last n pages in the current detection period of printing according to the collected result, where n≥1; Performing information processing on the plurality of temperature information; Determining the target temperature information of the current detection period according to the result of the information processing.

3. The method according to claim 2, characterized in that, The information processing includes any one of the following methods: taking an average value, taking a maximum value, taking a median value, and taking a mode value. The determining the target temperature information of the current detection period according to the result of the information processing includes: When the information processing is taking the average value, calculating the average value of the plurality of temperature information and determining the average value as the target temperature information of the current detection period; When the information processing is taking the maximum value, determining the temperature information with the highest temperature among the plurality of temperature information and determining the temperature information with the highest temperature as the target temperature information of the current detection period; When the information processing is taking the median value, calculating the median value of the plurality of temperature information and determining the median value as the target temperature information of the current detection period; When the information processing is taking the mode value, determining the mode value of the plurality of temperature information and determining the mode value as the target temperature information of the current detection period.

4. The method according to claim 1, wherein The adjusting the paper pitch of the next detection period of the current detection period to a target paper pitch includes: Obtaining paper type information corresponding to the printing job; Searching for an available paper pitch that matches the paper type information; If an available paper pitch that matches the paper type information is found, determining the available paper pitch as the target paper pitch; If an available paper pitch that matches the paper type information is not found, determining a preset paper pitch as the target paper pitch.

5. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that The adjusting the paper pitch of the next detection period of the current detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information in the current detection period and the second threshold includes: If the target temperature information is greater than the second threshold, increasing the paper pitch of the current detection period by a fine-tuning paper pitch L and determining it as the paper pitch of the next detection period of the current detection period; If the target temperature information is equal to the second threshold, not adjusting the paper pitch; If the target temperature information is less than the second threshold, the paper spacing for the next detection cycle of the current detection cycle is determined by reducing the paper spacing by a fine-tuning paper spacing L.

6. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that After adjusting the paper spacing for the next detection cycle of the current detection cycle according to the relationship between the target temperature information and the second threshold within the current detection cycle, the method further includes: Determine whether the adjusted paper spacing is less than the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing; If the adjusted paper spacing is less than the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing, the paper spacing for the next detection cycle of the current detection cycle is determined as the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing.

7. The method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine whether the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing; If the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing, the paper spacing for the next detection cycle of the current detection cycle is determined as the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing.

8. The method according to any one of claims 1 to 7, characterized in that, The method further includes: Determine the paper type information corresponding to the printing job; Update the available paper spacing corresponding to the paper type information according to the adjusted paper spacing.

9. An image forming apparatus, characterized in that, Includes: A printing module for performing a printing job; An acquisition module for collecting the temperature of the heating element according to the detection cycle; A processing module for determining the target temperature information of the heating element in the current detection cycle according to the collected result; And for determining whether the paper spacing has been adjusted during the execution of the printing job; A paper spacing adjustment module for, when the processing module determines that the paper spacing has not been adjusted during the execution of the printing job, and the paper spacing adjustment module determines that the target temperature information is greater than or equal to the first threshold, adjusting the paper spacing for the next detection cycle of the current detection cycle to the target paper spacing; And, When the processing module determines that the paper spacing has been adjusted during the execution of the printing job, and the target temperature information is within the preset interval, adjusting the paper spacing for the next detection cycle of the current detection cycle according to the relationship between the target temperature information and the second threshold within the current detection cycle; wherein, the second threshold is less than or equal to the first threshold.

10. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein The processing module is specifically used for: Determine several temperature information of the heating element during the last n pages in the current detection cycle of printing according to the collected result, where n≥1; Perform information processing on the several temperature information; Determine the target temperature information of the current detection cycle according to the result of the information processing.

11. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein When the paper spacing adjustment module adjusts the paper spacing for the next detection cycle of the current detection cycle to the target paper spacing, it specifically includes: Obtain the paper type information corresponding to the printing job; Search for whether there is an available paper spacing matching the paper type information stored; If an available paper spacing matching the paper type information is found, determine the available paper spacing as the target paper spacing; If an available paper spacing matching the paper type information is not found, determine the preset paper spacing as the target paper spacing.

12. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein The paper spacing adjustment module adjusts the paper spacing for the next detection period of the current detection period according to the relationship between the target temperature information and the second threshold within the current detection period, specifically including: If the target temperature information is greater than the second threshold, the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period is determined by increasing the paper spacing of the current detection period by the fine-tuning paper spacing L; If the target temperature information is equal to the second threshold, the paper spacing is not adjusted; If the target temperature information is less than the second threshold, the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period is determined by decreasing the paper spacing of the current detection period by the fine-tuning paper spacing L.

13. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein The paper spacing adjustment module is further configured to: Judge whether the adjusted paper spacing is less than the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing; If the adjusted paper spacing is less than the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing, the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period is determined as the lower limit value Lmin of the paper spacing.

14. The image forming apparatus according to claim 9, wherein The paper spacing adjustment module is further configured to: Judge whether the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing; If the adjusted paper spacing is greater than the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing, the paper spacing of the next detection period of the current detection period is determined as the upper limit value Lmax of the paper spacing.

15. The image forming apparatus according to any one of claims 9 to 14, characterized in that, It further includes an update module, The update module is configured to determine the paper type information corresponding to the printing job after the paper spacing adjustment module adjusts the paper spacing; Update the available paper spacing corresponding to the paper type information according to the adjusted paper spacing.

16. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium includes a stored program, wherein when the program runs, it controls the device where the computer-readable storage medium is located to execute the method according to any one of claims 1-8.

Images