Fixing Belt Heating Control for Edge Temperature Stability
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing fixing devices in image forming apparatuses experience a temperature rise at the edge portion of the belt when it shifts in a direction crossing the rotation direction, leading to issues such as toner offset and variations in gloss, which affect image quality.
Innovation Solution
A fixing device with an endless belt and multiple stretchers, including a heater that heats the belt section-wise and a switch that adjusts the heating based on the belt's edge position to prevent the walking phenomenon, and a corrector that corrects positional deviations by tilting the steering roller.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Stability of the object's composition
If the belt shifts to an edge portion in a direction crossing the rotation direction, then the belt positioning is unstable, but the temperature rises at the opposite edge portion causing toner offset and gloss variation
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is divided into multiple independent heating sections along the belt width direction, allowing different sections to be controlled independently. When belt shift is detected, the control unit adjusts the heating output of specific sections to compensate for temperature imbalances, applying local quality adjustment to prevent toner offset and gloss variation at affected edge portions.
Solution Approach 2:
The system uses sensors to detect the belt edge position in real-time and feeds this information back to the control unit. The control unit then adjusts the heating sections accordingly, creating a closed-loop feedback system that maintains uniform temperature distribution despite belt positioning variations, thereby preventing the temperature rise that causes toner offset and gloss variation.
2Temperature
If uniform heating is applied across the entire belt, then temperature distribution is consistent, but energy is wasted when the belt is shifted
Solution Approach 1:
Instead of uniform heating across the entire belt, the heater is segmented into multiple independent heating sections. The control unit activates only the sections that correspond to the actual belt position, applying heat locally where needed. This maintains temperature distribution uniformity at the belt's current position while avoiding energy waste in areas where the belt is not present.
Solution Approach 2:
The system applies heating action only to the necessary portions of the heater corresponding to the belt's actual position, rather than activating the entire heater. This partial action approach ensures adequate heating where required while reducing overall energy consumption, eliminating the excess energy waste that would occur with full heater activation.
3Temperature
If the heater operates continuously to maintain temperature, then heating consistency is ensured, but the temperature rise at shifted edge portions cannot be prevented
Solution Approach 1:
The heater is divided into multiple independent heating sections that can be controlled differently. When belt shift is detected, the control unit adjusts the output of specific sections to maintain heating consistency at the belt's actual position while preventing excessive temperature rise at edge portions that are not in contact with the belt, thereby eliminating the harmful effects of localized overheating.
Solution Approach 2:
The system continuously monitors belt position and uses this feedback to dynamically adjust heating section outputs. This maintains overall heating consistency by compensating for position changes while preventing the harmful temperature rise at shifted edge portions through real-time control adjustments based on actual belt location.
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
The solution effectively prevents the temperature rise at the edge portion of the belt, maintaining consistent image quality by preventing toner offset and ensuring uniform heating across the belt.
Implementation Method 1
a heater that heats the belt including sections, section by section, sectioned in a direction crossing a rotation direction of the belt
Data Source
AI summary
A fixing device includes an endless belt, multiple stretchers that stretch the belt, a heater that heats the belt including sections, section by section, sectioned in a direction crossing a rotation direction of the belt, and a switch that switches the sections heated by the heater from one to another in accordance with a position of an edge portion of the belt in the direction crossing the rotation direction of the belt.