Cleaning Blade Turn-Over Prevention via Toner Supply Timing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Existing image forming apparatuses face issues with turn-over of the cleaning blade due to uneven frictional forces caused by inconsistent toner supply, leading to adverse effects on image quality.
Innovation Solution
The apparatus employs a control unit to manage two distinct toner supply operations: one within the printable area and another outside it, ensuring optimal toner distribution across the cleaning blade to maintain consistent frictional forces and prevent turn-over.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If toner is supplied only to the printable area, then the cleaning device can prevent turn-over at the supplied spots, but uneven toner distribution causes uneven frictional forces that may cause turn-over at unsupplied spots
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies local quality by differentiating toner supply between two distinct regions: inside the printable area and outside the printable area. The control unit executes the first supply operation within the printable area and the second supply operation outside the printable area, ensuring that each region receives appropriate toner supply timing. This localized differentiation ensures uniform frictional forces across the entire cleaning blade surface, preventing turn-over at any spot.
2Reliability
If a dedicated device is added to supply toner to the full surface of the cleaning member, then turn-over can be suppressed uniformly, but the constitution becomes complicated
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies universality by making the existing development unit serve dual functions: it performs both the first supply operation (supplying toner to the printable area during normal development) and the second supply operation (supplying toner to outside the printable area for turn-over prevention). This eliminates the need for a dedicated toner supply device, maintaining uniform turn-over prevention while avoiding increased system complexity.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent merges the turn-over prevention function with the existing development unit by integrating both supply operations into a single device. The control unit coordinates the timing of toner supply from the development unit to both inside and outside the printable area, combining multiple functions into one system and thereby simplifying the overall constitution.
3Device complexity
If toner supply timing is not differentiated between inside and outside the printable area, then the system operation is simple, but uneven frictional forces cause turn-over and adverse effects on image quality
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by having the control unit execute the second supply operation (supplying toner outside the printable area) at a timing different from the first supply operation. This anticipatory differentiation in supply timing ensures that toner is appropriately distributed across the entire cleaning blade surface before the cleaning operation, preventing uneven frictional forces and turn-over that would otherwise degrade image quality.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
This approach effectively suppresses the adverse effects on image quality by maintaining uniform frictional forces, thereby preventing turn-over of the cleaning blade and ensuring consistent image formation.
Implementation Method 1
a blade-shaped contact member which is in contact with the surface of the rotary member so as to scrape the developer
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus is used, including a rotary member, on which a developer image by a developer is formed, a collection unit for collecting the developer by a blade member from a surface of the rotary member, and a control unit for controlling an image forming operation on the surface of the rotary member and a supply operation for supplying the developer to a contact portion between the rotary member and the blade member, wherein, assuming that the supply operation for supplying the developer to inside of a printable area is a first supply operation and the supply operation for supplying the developer to outside the printable area is a second supply operation, the control unit controls such that the first supply operation and the second supply operation are performed at different timing.