Color Erasable Marking for Sheet Reusability Detection
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Solution Overview
Problem
Reusable sheets used with color erasable toner in electrophotographic image forming apparatuses face issues due to the accumulation of toner resin, leading to insufficient heating during the erasing process, as the toner resin layer thickens with repeated use, affecting the quality of image erasure.
Innovation Solution
A marking apparatus prints marks on the sheet's margin with color erasable material, and a color erasing apparatus reads these marks to determine the sheet's reusability based on color difference, sorting reusable and non-reusable sheets by calculating the total color difference and comparing it against a specific threshold, ensuring effective heat transfer and image erasure.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Duration of action of stationary object
If color erasing is performed repeatedly on reusable sheets, then the sheet can be used multiple times, but the toner resin layer accumulates and thickens, leading to insufficient heating during erasure
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by marking sheets with color erasable material before they reach their actual reuse limit. The marking section prints marks on sheets that have been color-erased a predetermined number of times (e.g., 10 times), well before the sheet becomes unusable. This allows the sheet to be identified and removed from circulation before excessive toner resin accumulation degrades erasing quality, thus maintaining reliability while extending usable life through controlled reuse cycles.
2Adaptability or versatility
If color erasable toner is used for image formation, then images can be erased by heating, but toner resin remains on the sheet and accumulates with repeated use
Solution Approach 1:
The patent utilizes color changes by employing color erasable material that changes state when heated. The marking section prints marks using color erasable toner that can be erased by the color erasing section through heating. The marks are subsequently read by an image reading section to detect their presence and determine sheet reuse status. This color-based detection mechanism enables non-intrusive monitoring of sheet usage without adding physical complexity to the system.
3Productivity
If the toner resin layer thickness increases, then more images can be formed on the sheet, but heating efficiency decreases and image erasure becomes insufficient
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements feedback by using the image reading section to detect marks on sheets and providing this information back to the control section. The control section uses this feedback to determine whether a sheet has reached its reuse limit and should be removed from circulation. This closed-loop system ensures that sheets are retired based on actual usage patterns and mark detection, optimizing the balance between productivity (extending sheet life) and energy efficiency (maintaining adequate heating performance for erasure).
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 method allows for accurate determination of sheet reusability, preventing overheating and maintaining image quality by identifying and sorting sheets before excessive toner resin accumulation impairs the erasure process, thereby extending the usable life of the sheets.
Implementation Method 1
The color erasable toner image on a sheet is heated to a temperature higher than the fixing temperature of the toner image, that is, a color erasing temperature, to be color-erased by a color erasing section (heating section)
Implementation Method 2
In the case where an image is formed by an electrophotographic type image forming apparatus, a color erasable material is used as a color erasable toner
Data Source
AI summary
In accordance with an embodiment, the marking apparatus comprises a marking section configured to print, with a color erasable material, a mark in the margin area of a sheet and a marking control section configured to overprint, using the marking section, a mark at a specific position of the sheet every time an image is formed in the image printing area of the sheet with a color erasable material.