A fixing motor control method, an image forming apparatus, and a storage medium

Abstract

This invention discloses a fixing motor control method, an image forming apparatus, and a storage medium. The method includes acquiring a fixing target temperature, wherein the fixing target temperature characterizes the temperature required for fixing heating in the image forming apparatus; and determining the fixing motor speed based on the fixing target temperature to control the rotation of the fixing motor. This invention determines the fixing motor speed by acquiring the fixing target temperature, eliminating the need to use any sensors to measure the roller outer diameter before adjusting the fixing motor speed, thus saving costs. Simultaneously, directly setting the fixing motor speed based on the fixing target temperature offers a time efficiency advantage, avoiding the need to adjust the fixing motor speed only after registration defects have occurred.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of image forming technology, and in particular to a fixing motor control method, an image forming apparatus, and a storage medium. Background Technology

[0002] Because the paper undergoes two transfers during printing, the first transfer moves the toner from the photosensitive drum to the transfer belt, and the second transfer moves the toner from the transfer belt to the paper. During continuous printing, the first sheet of paper enters the fixing assembly after being separated from the second transfer, at which point the second sheet begins its first transfer.

[0003] When a printer is printing continuously in a low-temperature environment, the pressure rollers are in a compressed state. A higher temperature is required for fusing. When the first sheet of paper passes through the fusing unit, the paper accumulates in a bent position at the end of the transfer belt. As the paper ends out, the sudden reduction in the load on the transfer belt causes it to speed up, which in turn speeds up the first transfer speed of the second sheet. However, by the time the second sheet passes through the second transfer stage, the transfer belt speed has returned to its default speed. This results in inconsistent transfer speeds between the two transfers of the second sheet, altering the position of the toner on the paper and ultimately leading to poor registration.

[0004] When printing in a high-temperature environment, the pressure roller expands due to heat but its rotation speed remains constant. This causes the paper to be straightened after passing through the fixing unit. Because it is straightened, the paper tail of the first sheet will not accumulate at the end of the transfer belt. In other words, the load on the paper tail to come off the transfer belt is reduced, the speed of the transfer belt changes very little, and the color registration is improved.

[0005] In the existing technology, in order to solve the problem of poor color registration, it is necessary to add an extra sensor to the existing printer. The extra sensor is used to collect the outer diameter of the roller and the rotation speed of the fuser motor is changed according to the outer diameter of the roller. However, the extra sensor added to collect the outer diameter of the roller increases the number of printer parts and thus increases the cost. Summary of the Invention

[0006] To address the shortcomings of existing technologies, the present invention aims to provide a fixing motor control method, an image forming apparatus, and a storage medium that eliminates the need for any sensors to measure the roller outer diameter before adjusting the fixing motor speed, thus saving costs.

[0007] According to a first aspect of the present invention, a fixing motor control method is provided, executed in an image forming apparatus including a fixing motor, characterized in that the method comprises:

[0008] Obtain the fixing target temperature, wherein the fixing target temperature is used to characterize the fixing heating temperature required by the image forming apparatus;

[0009] The speed of the fixing motor is determined based on the target fixing temperature in order to control the rotation of the fixing motor.

[0010] The fixing motor control method of the present invention determines the fixing motor speed by acquiring the fixing target temperature, eliminating the need to use any sensors to measure the outer diameter of the roller before adjusting the fixing motor speed, thus saving costs. At the same time, setting the fixing motor speed directly based on the fixing target temperature has a certain time efficiency advantage, avoiding the need to adjust the fixing motor speed after color registration defects have already occurred.

[0011] In some embodiments, obtaining the fixing target temperature includes:

[0012] The current parameters of the image forming apparatus are obtained, wherein the current parameters include at least one of the following: current number of pages to be printed, current environmental parameters, current fixing temperature, current paper type, and current printing mode;

[0013] The fixing target temperature is confirmed based on the current parameters.

[0014] In some embodiments, obtaining the current parameters of the image forming apparatus, wherein the current parameters include the current number of pages to be printed, includes:

[0015] Obtain the number of pages printed by the image forming apparatus within a preset time period.

[0016] In some implementations, confirming the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters includes:

[0017] The fixing target temperature is obtained from a preset temperature table based on the current parameters, wherein the temperature table contains the fixing target temperature associated with the current parameters.

[0018] In some embodiments, determining the fixing motor speed based on the fixing target temperature includes:

[0019] The fuser motor speed is obtained from a preset control table based on the target fuser temperature, wherein the control table contains the fuser motor speed associated with the target fuser temperature.

[0020] According to a second aspect of the present invention, an image forming apparatus is provided, including a fixing motor, and further comprising:

[0021] A fixing target temperature acquisition module is used to acquire a fixing target temperature, wherein the fixing target temperature is used to characterize the fixing heating temperature required by the image forming apparatus;

[0022] A fuser motor speed confirmation module is used to confirm the fuser motor speed based on the fuser target temperature in order to control the rotation of the fuser motor.

[0023] In some embodiments, the fixing target temperature acquisition module includes:

[0024] The parameter acquisition module is used to acquire the current parameters of the image forming apparatus, wherein the current parameters include at least one of the following: current number of pages to be printed, current environmental parameters, current fixing temperature, current paper type, and current printing mode.

[0025] A fixing target temperature confirmation module is used to confirm the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters.

[0026] In some implementations, the parameter acquisition module includes:

[0027] A print page number acquisition module, wherein the print page number acquisition module is used to acquire the current print page number of the image forming apparatus, wherein acquiring the current print page number of the image forming apparatus includes acquiring the print page number of the image forming apparatus within a preset time period; and / or

[0028] An environmental parameter acquisition module is used to acquire the current environmental parameters of the image forming apparatus; and / or

[0029] Fixing temperature acquisition module, the fixing temperature acquisition module being used to acquire the current fixing temperature of the image forming apparatus; and / or

[0030] A paper type acquisition module, used to acquire the current paper type being printed by the image forming apparatus; and / or

[0031] A printing mode acquisition module is used to acquire the current printing mode of the image forming apparatus.

[0032] In some embodiments, the fixing target temperature confirmation module is used to confirm the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters, including:

[0033] The fixing target temperature confirmation module is used to obtain the fixing target temperature from a preset temperature table based on the current parameters, wherein the temperature table has the fixing target temperature associated with the current parameters.

[0034] In some embodiments, the fixing motor speed confirmation module is used to confirm the fixing motor speed based on the fixing target temperature, including:

[0035] The fuser motor speed confirmation module is used to obtain the fuser motor speed from a preset control table based on the fuser target temperature, wherein the control table contains the fuser motor speed associated with the fuser target temperature.

[0036] According to a third aspect of the present invention, a computer-readable storage medium is provided, the computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions for causing a processor to execute and implement the fixing motor control method of the first aspect described above.

[0037] Compared with the prior art, the fixing motor control method, image forming apparatus and storage medium of the present invention determine the fixing motor speed by acquiring the fixing target temperature, eliminating the need to use any sensor to measure the outer diameter of the roller before adjusting the fixing motor speed, thus saving costs; at the same time, setting the fixing motor speed directly based on the fixing target temperature has certain time efficiency advantages, avoiding the need to adjust the fixing motor speed after color registration defects have already occurred. Attached Figure Description

[0038] Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0039] Figure 2 This is a flowchart of a fixing motor control method according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0040] Figure 3 This is a flowchart illustrating the determination of the target temperature according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0041] Figure 4 This is the first part of a combined table of temperature gauge and control table according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0042] Figure 5 This is the second part of a combined table of temperature gauges and control tables according to one embodiment of the present invention;

[0043] Figure 6 This is the third part of a combined table of temperature gauges and control tables according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0044] Figure 7 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of the fixing target temperature acquisition module and the fixing motor speed confirmation module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0045] Figure 8 This is a schematic diagram of the fixing target temperature acquisition module according to an embodiment of the present invention;

[0046] Figure 9 This is a schematic diagram of the structure of an image forming apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention. Detailed Implementation

[0047] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

[0048] The present invention provides an image forming apparatus, including but not limited to printers, copiers, fax machines, scanners, and multifunction printers that integrate printing, copying, faxing, and scanning functions into one unit, the function of which is to print images or text on an imaging medium.

[0049] See Figure 1 This is a schematic diagram of an application scenario provided by an embodiment of the present invention. As an example of an image forming apparatus 100, the image forming apparatus 100 includes photosensitive drums 101Y-K (i.e., 101Y, 101M, 101C and 101K), charging rollers 102Y-K (i.e., 102Y, 102M, 102C and 102K), developing rollers 103Y-K (i.e., 103Y, 103M, 103C and 103K), powder hoppers 104Y-K (i.e., 104Y, 104M, 104C and 104K), transfer belt 105, secondary transfer roller 106, laser scanning unit (LSU, Laser Scanning Unit) 107, heating roller 108, pressure roller 109, discharge roller 110 and discharge paper tray 111, etc. Generally, the processing cartridge YK includes a photosensitive drum 101Y-K, a charging roller 102Y-K, a developing roller 103Y-K, and a toner hopper 104Y-K for holding toner.

[0050] During printing, the image forming apparatus continuously applies a layer of negative charge to the photosensitive drums 101Y-K (i.e., 101Y, 101M, 102C, and 102K) as the charging rollers 102Y-K rotate, and removes the residual charge from the previous cycle.

[0051] When the laser scanning unit (LSU) 107 emits a laser beam that irradiates a portion of the photosensitive drums 101Y-K (i.e., 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K), a discharge phenomenon occurs, and a potential image appears on the drum surface of the photosensitive drums 101Y-K (i.e., 101Y, 101M, 101C, and 101K).

[0052] The developing rollers 103Y-K (i.e. 103Y, 103M, 103C and 103K) attract the charged toner in the toner cartridge 104Y-K to the surface through a central magnet. When the toner on the surface of the developing roller 103Y-K comes into contact with the photosensitive drum 101Y-K, the toner is transferred to the drum surface of the photosensitive drum 101Y-K to form an image.

[0053] The image forming apparatus also includes a paper tray (not shown) for holding paper, which the image forming apparatus feeds into the paper path during printing.

[0054] The image forming apparatus also includes a secondary transfer roller 106. When paper is fed between the secondary transfer roller 106 and the transfer belt 105, the secondary transfer roller 106 draws the toner forming the image on the transfer belt 105 onto the paper, thereby transferring the image formed on the transfer belt 105 onto the paper.

[0055] The image forming apparatus also includes a hot roller 108 and a pressure roller 109 that form the fixing assembly. The hot roller 108 heats the toner image on the paper fed between the hot roller 108 and the pressure roller 109. While heating, the pressure roller 109 applies pressure to the hot roller 108 to fix the heated toner image on the paper. The image forming apparatus also includes a fixing motor (not shown), which drives the pressure roller 109 to rotate.

[0056] The image forming apparatus also includes a toner hopper 104Y-K and a cleaning plate (not shown in the figure). The cleaning plate removes excess toner from the drum surface of the photosensitive drum 101Y-K and collects it into the toner hopper 104Y-K, preventing excess toner from leaking onto the paper.

[0057] The image forming apparatus also includes an environmental detector (not shown), which monitors the environment in real time to obtain environmental parameters. The environmental detector includes at least one of a temperature sensor and a humidity sensor, and the corresponding environmental parameters include at least one of a temperature parameter and a humidity parameter. Alternatively, if the image forming apparatus does not have an environmental detector, the parameters can be obtained from a host computer (such as a computer or mobile phone) via a communication module, or sent to the image forming apparatus by the operator via a host computer.

[0058] When the ambient temperature is low and the internal temperature of the image forming apparatus is low, the printing of the image forming apparatus is cold printing. Because the internal temperature of the image forming apparatus is currently low, a higher temperature is required for fixing.

[0059] In contrast to cold printing, image forming apparatus printing is hot printing when the ambient temperature and the internal temperature of the image forming apparatus are both high. Hot printing does not require such high temperatures (lower temperatures compared to cold printing) for fixing.

[0060] When the image forming apparatus is in cold start printing, the pressure roller 109 is in a tightened state. When the pressure roller 109 is in a tightened state, the outer diameter of the pressure roller 109 is smaller than that of the pressure roller in the expanded state. Then, when the angular velocity of the pressure roller remains unchanged, the linear velocity during cold start printing is relatively smaller than that during hot start printing. It can be understood that when the angular velocity remains unchanged, the larger the outer diameter, the larger the linear velocity. Since the linear velocity during cold start printing is smaller than that during hot start printing, the speed at which the paper passes through the fixing unit is actually slower. For example, in a certain cold start printing, the running speed of the paper on the paper path is A, and the speed at which the paper passes through the fixing unit is B, where B < A. It can be understood that since the front part of the paper passes through the fixing unit at a slower speed, while the speed of the rear part of the paper on the paper path is faster than the speed at which the paper passes through the fixing unit, the front part of the paper passes through at a slower speed and the rear part passes through at a faster speed. Therefore, the paper may assume a curved posture on the paper path. When the tail of the paper is pulled out from the transfer belt, the load that originally piled up at the paper tail on the transfer belt and blocked its movement will suddenly decrease, causing the transfer belt to accelerate.

[0061] When the external environmental temperature is high or when the image forming apparatus heats up due to being in a working state for a long time (i.e., hot start printing), the temperature of the fixing unit, as a heating component, will also rise. That is, the temperature of the pressure roller 109 inside the fixing unit will rise. The pressure roller is made of rubber, and rubber expands when heated.

[0062] After the pressure roller 109 expands due to heat, its outer diameter will increase. When the angular velocity remains unchanged, the larger the outer diameter, the larger the linear velocity. Then, as the pressure roller rotates, the area where the paper wraps around the pressure roller will increase compared to that during cold start printing. The paper that was originally piled up on the transfer belt is pulled upward, and the paper is straightened, rather than assuming the curved state of the paper during cold start printing.

[0063] The inventor found that during low-temperature cold start, the fixing motor needs to rotate at a relatively fast speed to straighten the paper, reduce the load of the paper coming out of the transfer belt, so that the secondary transfer speed remains unchanged and the color registration is compliant. However, in previous designs, the rotation speed of the fixing motor was the same when the image forming apparatus printed any paper at a constant speed in any state. Even when changing the rotation speed of the fixing motor, it was necessary to collect the outer diameter of the roller through a sensor and then adjust the rotation speed of the fixing motor according to the outer diameter of the roller.

[0064] An embodiment of the present invention provides a method for controlling a fixing motor, which is executed in Figure 1 the image forming apparatus shown, without using any sensors to measure the outer diameter of the roller and then adjust the speed of the fixing motor, saving costs. As Figure 2 shown, the method includes:

[0065] S100: Obtain a fixing target temperature, where the fixing target temperature is used to represent the temperature required for fixing and heating of the image forming apparatus;

[0066] In this embodiment, when the image forming apparatus is printing, since the fixing component needs to perform fixing operations during the fixing stage, the image forming apparatus needs to control the fixing component to heat to the required fixing temperature; the image forming apparatus can control the fixing component to heat to the required fixing temperature by obtaining the fixing target temperature.

[0067] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 3 As shown, step S100, obtaining the fixing target temperature, includes:

[0068] S110: Obtain the current parameters of the image forming apparatus, wherein the current parameters include at least one of the following: current number of pages to be printed, current environmental parameters, current fixing temperature, current paper type to be printed, and current printing mode;

[0069] In this embodiment, when the image forming apparatus is printing, the current temperature required for fixing heating (i.e., the fixing target temperature) will vary depending on the current parameters of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the current parameters can be obtained before confirming the fixing target temperature. The current parameters include at least one of the following: the current number of pages to be printed, the current environmental parameters, the current fixing temperature, the current paper type, and the current printing mode.

[0070] In one optional implementation, when the image forming apparatus heats up due to prolonged operation during printing, the temperature of the fusing assembly, as a heating component, also rises. The degree of temperature rise varies depending on the operating time; a longer operating time results in a greater temperature rise, allowing for a relatively lower target fusing temperature. Conversely, a shorter operating time results in a smaller temperature rise, requiring a relatively higher target fusing temperature. The operating time can be represented by the current number of pages printed by the image forming apparatus; that is, the more pages printed within a given time, the faster the image forming process. The longer the device operates, the shorter the operating time. Conversely, the fewer pages printed within a certain time, the shorter the operating time of the image forming apparatus. Therefore, the current number of pages printed by the image forming apparatus can be used to determine the target fixing temperature. At the same time, it is also possible that the image forming apparatus may pause printing for a period of time after printing many pages continuously. In this case, although the number of pages printed within a certain time is 0 or less, the fuser is still in a relatively hot state. Therefore, the state of the image forming apparatus can be judged by combining the number of pages printed (operating time) and the current fixing temperature, and then the target fixing temperature can be determined. Of course, the target fixing temperature can also be determined by the current fixing temperature or only by the number of pages printed.

[0071] Determining the fixing target temperature based on at least one of the current parameters can ensure that the fixing target temperature is a fixing temperature that is more suitable for the current situation and has a better fixing effect, thereby making the fixing effect more in line with the user's needs.

[0072] In one alternative implementation, obtaining the current number of pages to be printed by the image forming apparatus includes:

[0073] Obtain the number of pages printed by the image forming device within a preset time period.

[0074] Understandably, if we need to determine whether printing is cold or hot by obtaining the number of printed pages, it's not scientifically sound to calculate the page count from the factory setting of the image forming device, as this could lead to incorrect fixing target temperature settings. This problem can be solved by setting a preset time and obtaining the number of printed pages corresponding to that preset time. For example, if the preset time is 10 minutes, the system can obtain the number of printed pages within the previous 10 minutes in real time. The number of printed pages N within those 10 minutes can be divided into three cases (corresponding to three page count intervals), such as... Figure 4 As shown, the first method is for printing pages N < 20 pages, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the second type is when the number of printed pages N ≥ 20 and the number of printed pages N < 120, such as... Figure 6 As shown, the third option is to print N ≥ 120 pages.

[0075] By setting a preset time and obtaining the number of pages printed at that preset time as the current number of pages to print, the obtained value of the current number of pages to print is more consistent with the actual needs. This prevents situations where a certain number of pages are printed, followed by a period of inactivity, and then another period of printing, from affecting the determination of the current number of pages and causing errors in the setting of the fixing target temperature.

[0076] In one optional implementation, if it is necessary to further combine the current fixing temperature Ta with the number of printed pages N (working time) to determine the target fixing temperature, the current fixing temperature Ta (such as the temperature of the ceramic sheet of the fixing component detected by a thermistor) can be detected. This current fixing temperature Ta is specifically the fixing temperature at that moment, and it is combined with the number of printed pages N. The combined result can be categorized into three cases, such as... Figure 4 As shown, the first type is when the number of printed pages N < 20 pages and Ta < A℃, such as... Figure 5 As shown, the second type is (20 ≤ number of printed pages N < 120 pages and Ta > B℃) or (number of printed pages N ≤ 20 pages and Ta ≥ A℃), such as Figure 6 As shown, the third type is when the number of printed pages N ≥ 120 pages and Ta > B℃.

[0077] In one optional implementation, during printing, the image forming apparatus considers that ambient temperature and humidity also affect the fixing temperature. When the ambient temperature is relatively high, the fixing target temperature is relatively low, and vice versa. Similarly, when the ambient humidity is high, the fixing target temperature is relatively high, and vice versa. Therefore, the fixing target temperature can also be determined using the current ambient temperature T and current ambient humidity RH of the image forming apparatus. Correspondingly, as... Figures 4-6 As shown, ambient temperature can also be divided into multiple ambient temperature ranges, such as T1≤T<T2, T2≤T<T3, etc. Similarly, ambient humidity can also be divided into multiple ambient humidity ranges, such as RH1≤RH<RH2, RH2≤RH<RH3, etc.

[0078] In one optional implementation, when the image forming apparatus is printing, the type of paper being printed may be plain paper 1, plain paper 2, thin paper, thick paper 1, thick paper 2, thick paper 3, glossy label paper, matte label paper, envelope paper, card stock, film paper, photo paper, etc. Since different types of paper may have different thicknesses and materials, their temperature sensitivity and tolerance may also differ. Paper with higher sensitivity and tolerance will have a higher fixing target temperature, while paper with lower sensitivity and tolerance will have a lower fixing target temperature. Therefore, different types of paper may require different fixing target temperatures. Figures 4-6 As shown, the classification of paper type P can be one type for each type of paper, or it can be one type for two or more types of paper. For example, glossy label paper and matte label paper can be classified as one type, represented by the same letter. After classifying paper type P into multiple types, they are sequentially labeled as P1, P2, ..., Pn.

[0079] In one optional implementation, when the image forming apparatus prints, the type of paper being printed may be plain paper 1, plain paper 2, thin paper, thick paper 1, thick paper 2, thick paper 3, glossy label paper, matte label paper, envelope paper, card stock, film paper, photo paper, etc. Among these, plain paper 1, plain paper 2, and thin paper have two printing modes: normal printing (normal speed printing) and silent printing (slow speed printing). Other paper types default to slow speed printing, but the printing mode can be set according to actual needs. For example, if the user inputs a command for normal printing mode, even thick paper can use normal printing mode. Under the same conditions, the fixing target temperature during silent printing will be lower than the fixing target temperature during normal printing. Therefore, the fixing target temperature can also be set according to the printing mode. Figures 4-6 As shown, the printing mode M is divided into normal printing M1 and silent printing M2.

[0080] S120: Confirm the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters.

[0081] In this embodiment, during printing, the image forming apparatus is affected by factors such as the current number of pages N, the current ambient temperature T, the current ambient humidity RH, the current paper type P, and the current printing mode M, all of which influence the fixing target temperature Tx. Therefore, as... Figures 4-6 As shown, the fixing target temperature Tx can be determined based on the current number of pages printed N, the current ambient temperature T, the current ambient humidity RH, the current paper type P, and the current printing mode M. Correspondingly, the obtained fixing target temperatures Tx are recorded as Tx1, ..., Tx24n.

[0082] In one alternative implementation, determining the fixing target temperature based on current parameters includes:

[0083] The fixing target temperature is obtained from a preset temperature table based on the current parameters, wherein the temperature table contains fixing target temperatures associated with the current parameters.

[0084] Specifically, a temperature table can be pre-created, containing the number of pages printed (N), ambient temperature (T), ambient humidity (RH), paper type (P), printing mode (M), and a target fixing temperature (Tx) associated with these parameters. The target fixing temperature (Tx) is obtained by substituting the current number of pages printed (N), current ambient temperature (T), current ambient humidity (RH), current paper type (P), and current printing mode (M) into the pre-created temperature table. The pre-created temperature table can be generated by pre-arranging and combining multiple ranges of page numbers, ambient temperatures, and humidity levels, as well as multiple paper types and two printing modes to form various scenarios. A target fixing temperature (Tx) can be assigned to each scenario. Figures 4-6As shown. When the current number of pages printed (N), current ambient temperature (T), current ambient humidity (RH), current paper type (P), and current print mode (M) are obtained, they are substituted into the corresponding multiple ranges of page count, ambient temperature, ambient humidity, paper type, and print mode to identify a suitable range of page count, ambient temperature, ambient humidity, paper type, and print mode. Finally, a unique fixing target temperature (Tx) is determined based on this suitable range. Furthermore, multiple combinations of page count, ambient temperature, ambient humidity, paper type, and print mode can be pre-arranged to form various cases, and a fixing target temperature can be set for each case. Alternatively, one or two of these cases can be removed as needed, such as removing multiple ambient humidity ranges and combining the remaining cases.

[0085] For example, taking the current ambient temperature T and the current number of pages N as an example, when the current ambient temperature T is low and the current number of pages N is small (i.e., the pressure roller 109 is cooled and tightened), the fixing target temperature Tx of the fixing heating will be higher in order to fix the toner on the paper. Conversely, under the opposite conditions (i.e., the current ambient temperature T is high and the current number of pages N is large), the fixing target temperature Tx will be lower. That is, the fixing target temperature Tx decreases as the current ambient temperature T increases and decreases as the current number of pages N increases. In addition, the current ambient humidity RH also affects the fixing target temperature Tx. The fixing target temperature Tx increases as the current ambient humidity RH increases and decreases as the current ambient humidity RH decreases. The current paper type P also affects the fixing target temperature Tx, and the fixing target temperature Tx varies depending on the current paper type P. The current printing mode also affects the fusing target temperature Tx. The fusing target temperature Tx during silent printing will be lower than that during normal printing.

[0086] S200: Determine the fuser motor speed based on the target temperature to control the rotation of the fuser motor.

[0087] In this embodiment, such as Figures 4-6As shown, the fuser motor speed V is determined by the fuser target temperature Tx to control the rotation of the fuser motor. The obtained fuser motor speeds V are denoted as V1, ..., V24n in sequence. Specifically, when the fuser target temperature Tx is high (when printing is cold), the fuser motor speed V is increased when printing the current page; when the fuser target temperature Tx is low (when printing is hot), the fuser motor speed V is decreased when printing the current page, which can improve poor color registration.

[0088] In one alternative implementation, determining the fuser motor speed based on the target fuser temperature includes:

[0089] The fuser motor speed is obtained from a preset control table based on the target fuser temperature, wherein the control table contains fuser motor speeds associated with the target fuser temperature.

[0090] Specifically, a control table can be pre-configured to determine the target fixing temperature Tx and the associated fixing motor speed V, such as... Figures 4-6 As shown, the corresponding fixing motor speed V is obtained by substituting the acquired fixing target temperature Tx into a pre-made control table.

[0091] The fixing motor control method of this embodiment determines the fixing motor speed by acquiring the fixing target temperature, eliminating the need to use any sensors to measure the roller outer diameter before adjusting the fixing motor speed, thus saving costs. At the same time, setting the fixing motor speed directly based on the fixing target temperature has a certain time efficiency advantage, avoiding the need to adjust the fixing motor speed after color registration defects have already occurred.

[0092] This invention provides an image forming apparatus for executing the above-described fixing motor control method, such as... Figure 7 As shown, it also includes:

[0093] A fixing target temperature acquisition module 100 is used to acquire a fixing target temperature, wherein the fixing target temperature is used to characterize the temperature required for fixing heating of the image forming apparatus.

[0094] The fuser motor speed confirmation module 200 is used to confirm the fuser motor speed based on the target temperature of the fuser, so as to control the rotation of the fuser motor.

[0095] In one alternative implementation, such as Figure 8 As shown, the fixing target temperature acquisition module 100 includes:

[0096] The parameter acquisition module 110 is used to acquire the current parameters of the image forming apparatus, wherein the current parameters include at least one of the following: current number of pages to be printed, current environmental parameters, current fixing temperature, current paper type to be printed, and current printing mode.

[0097] The fixing target temperature confirmation module 120 is used to confirm the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters.

[0098] In one optional implementation, the parameter acquisition module 110 includes:

[0099] The print page number acquisition module 111 is used to acquire the current print page number of the image forming apparatus, wherein acquiring the current print page number of the image forming apparatus includes acquiring the print page number of the image forming apparatus within a preset time period; and / or

[0100] Environmental parameter acquisition module 112 is used to acquire the current environmental parameters of the image forming apparatus; and / or

[0101] Fixing temperature acquisition module 113, the fixing temperature acquisition module 113 is used to acquire the current fixing temperature of the image forming apparatus; and / or

[0102] The paper type acquisition module 114 is used to acquire the current paper type being printed by the image forming apparatus; and / or

[0103] Printing mode acquisition module 115 is used to acquire the current printing mode of the image forming apparatus.

[0104] In one optional implementation, the fixing target temperature confirmation module 120 is used to confirm the fixing target temperature based on current parameters, including:

[0105] The fixing target temperature confirmation module 120 is used to obtain the fixing target temperature from a preset temperature table based on the current parameters, wherein the temperature table contains the fixing target temperature associated with the current parameters.

[0106] In one optional implementation, the fuser motor speed confirmation module 200 is used to confirm the fuser motor speed based on the target temperature for fusing, including:

[0107] The fuser motor speed confirmation module 200 is used to obtain the fuser motor speed from a preset control table based on the fuser target temperature, wherein the control table contains fuser motor speeds associated with the fuser target temperature.

[0108] It should be noted that the specific processing procedures of the fixing target temperature acquisition module 100, parameter acquisition module 110 (including print page number acquisition module 111 to print mode acquisition module 115), fixing target temperature confirmation module 120 and fixing motor speed confirmation module 200 in the image forming apparatus have been described in detail in the fixing motor control method, so they will not be repeated here.

[0109] This invention provides an image forming apparatus, such as... Figure 9 As shown, Figure 9 The image forming apparatus shown is merely an example and should not impose any limitation on the functionality and scope of use of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0110] like Figure 9 As shown, the image forming apparatus is represented in the form of a general-purpose computing device. Components of the image forming apparatus may include, but are not limited to: one or more processors 910, a memory 930, and a communication bus 940 connecting different system components (including the memory 930 and the processor 910).

[0111] The communication bus 940 represents one or more of several bus architectures, including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheral bus, a graphics acceleration port, a processor, or a local bus using any of the various bus architectures. For example, these architectures include, but are not limited to, the Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) bus, the Micro Channel Architecture (MAC) bus, the Enhanced ISA bus, the Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) local bus, and the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus.

[0112] Image forming apparatuses typically include a variety of computer-readable media. These media can be any available media that can be accessed by the image forming apparatus, including volatile and non-volatile media, and removable and non-removable media.

[0113] The memory 930 may include computer system readable media in the form of volatile memory, such as random access memory (RAM) and / or cache memory. The image forming apparatus may further include other removable / non-removable, volatile / non-volatile computer system storage media. Although Figure 9Not shown, a disk drive for reading and writing to a removable non-volatile disk (e.g., a "floppy disk") and an optical disc drive for reading and writing to a removable non-volatile optical disc (e.g., a compact disc read-only memory (CD-ROM), a digital video disc read-only memory (DVD-ROM), or other optical media) may be provided. In these cases, each drive may be connected to the communication bus 940 via one or more data media interfaces. The memory 930 may include at least one program product having a set (e.g., at least one) of program modules configured to perform the functions of the embodiments of the present invention.

[0114] A program / utility having a set (at least one) of program modules can be stored in memory 930. 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 perform the functions and / or methods described in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0115] The image forming apparatus can also communicate with one or more external devices, one or more devices that enable a user to interact with the image forming apparatus, or any device (e.g., a network interface card, modem, etc.) that enables the image forming apparatus to communicate with one or more other computing devices. This communication can be performed via the communication interface 920. Furthermore, the image forming apparatus can also communicate via a network adapter (…). Figure 9 (Not shown) communicates with one or more networks (e.g., Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), and / or public networks, such as the Internet). The aforementioned network adapter can communicate with other modules of the image forming apparatus via the communication bus 940. It should be understood that, although... Figure 9 As not shown, other hardware and / or software modules may be used in conjunction with the image forming apparatus, including but not limited to: microcode, device drivers, redundant processing units, external disk drive arrays, Redundant Arrays of Independent Drives (RAID) systems, tape drives, and data backup storage systems.

[0116] The processor 910 executes various functional applications and data processing by running programs stored in the memory 930, such as implementing the fixing motor control method provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0117] The present invention also provides a computer-readable storage medium storing computer instructions that cause the computer to execute the fixing motor control method provided in the embodiments of the present invention.

[0118] The aforementioned computer-readable storage medium may be 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, an electrical, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic, infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, or device, or any combination thereof, but is not limited thereto. More specific examples (a non-exhaustive list) of computer-readable storage media include: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portable computer disk, a hard disk, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM), or flash memory, optical fiber, portable compact disk read-only memory (CD-ROM), optical storage device, magnetic storage device, or any suitable combination thereof. In this document, a computer-readable storage medium may be any tangible medium that contains or stores a program that may be used by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0119] Computer-readable signal media may include data signals propagated in baseband or as part of a carrier wave, carrying computer-readable program code. Such propagated data signals may take various forms, including but not limited to electromagnetic signals, optical signals, or any suitable combination thereof. Computer-readable signal media may also be any computer-readable medium other than computer-readable storage media, capable of sending, propagating, or transmitting programs for use by or in connection with an instruction execution system, apparatus, or device.

[0120] Program code contained on a computer-readable medium may be transmitted using any suitable medium, including but not limited to wireless, wire, optical fiber, radio frequency (RF), or any suitable combination thereof.

[0121] The above descriptions are merely some embodiments of the present invention. For those skilled in the art, various modifications and improvements can be made without departing from the inventive concept of the present invention, and these all fall within the protection scope of the present invention.

Claims

1. A fixing motor control method, executed in an image forming apparatus, the image forming apparatus including a fixing motor, characterized in that, The method includes: Obtain the fixing target temperature, wherein the fixing target temperature is used to characterize the fixing heating temperature required by the image forming apparatus; The step of obtaining the fixing target temperature includes: obtaining the current parameters of the image forming apparatus, wherein the current parameters include at least one of the following: current number of printed pages, current environmental parameters, current fixing temperature, current paper type, and current printing mode; and confirming the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters; wherein obtaining the current number of printed pages includes: Obtain the number of pages printed by the image forming apparatus within a preset time period; The speed of the fuser motor is determined based on the target temperature of the fuser, and the rotation of the fuser motor is controlled accordingly. When the target temperature of the fuser exceeds a preset threshold and the printing is cold, the speed of the fuser motor is increased. When the target temperature of the fuser is lower than the preset threshold and the printing is hot, the speed of the fuser motor is decreased. The preset threshold is the target temperature of the fuser during normal printing.

2. The fixing motor control method according to claim 1, characterized in that, The step of determining the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters includes: The fixing target temperature is obtained from a preset temperature table based on the current parameters, wherein the temperature table contains the fixing target temperature associated with the current parameters.

3. The fixing motor control method according to any one of claims 1-2, characterized in that, The step of determining the fixing motor speed based on the fixing target temperature includes: The fuser motor speed is obtained from a preset control table based on the target fuser temperature, wherein the control table contains the fuser motor speed associated with the target fuser temperature.

4. An image forming apparatus, comprising a fixing motor, characterized in that, Also includes: A fixing target temperature acquisition module is used to acquire a fixing target temperature, wherein the fixing target temperature is used to characterize the fixing heating temperature required by the image forming apparatus; The fixing target temperature acquisition module includes: a parameter acquisition module, which acquires current parameters of the image forming apparatus, wherein the current parameters include at least one of the following: current number of printed pages, current environmental parameters, current fixing temperature, current paper type, and current printing mode; and a fixing target temperature confirmation module, which confirms the fixing target temperature based on the current parameters; wherein acquiring the current number of printed pages includes: Obtain the number of pages printed by the image forming apparatus within a preset time period; A fuser motor speed confirmation module is used to confirm the fuser motor speed based on the fuser target temperature in order to control the rotation of the fuser motor. When the fuser target temperature exceeds a preset threshold and printing is cold, the fuser motor speed is increased; when the fuser target temperature is lower than the preset threshold and printing is hot, the fuser motor speed is decreased. The preset threshold is the fuser target temperature during normal printing.

5. The image forming apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that, The parameter acquisition module includes: A print page number acquisition module, wherein the print page number acquisition module is used to acquire the current print page number of the image forming apparatus, wherein acquiring the current print page number of the image forming apparatus includes acquiring the print page number of the image forming apparatus within a preset time period; and / or An environmental parameter acquisition module is used to acquire the current environmental parameters of the image forming apparatus; and / or Fixing temperature acquisition module, the fixing temperature acquisition module being used to acquire the current fixing temperature of the image forming apparatus; and / or A paper type acquisition module, used to acquire the current paper type being printed by the image forming apparatus; and / or A printing mode acquisition module is used to acquire the current printing mode of the image forming apparatus.

6. The image forming apparatus according to claim 5, characterized in that, The fixing motor speed confirmation module is used to confirm the fixing motor speed based on the fixing target temperature, including: The fuser motor speed confirmation module is used to obtain the fuser motor speed from a preset control table based on the fuser target temperature, wherein the control table contains the fuser motor speed associated with the fuser target temperature.

7. A computer-readable storage medium, characterized in that, The computer-readable storage medium stores computer instructions that, when executed by a processor, implement the fixing motor control method according to any one of claims 1-3.

Images