Fixing Portion Cleaning via High-Density Toner Sheet
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Solution Overview
Problem
Image forming apparatuses face contamination issues with toner and paper dust adhering to component rollers, leading to poor cleaning efficiency and potential jams, especially when using recording materials with fillers like calcium carbonate or talc, which degrade the releasability of the rollers.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus with a cleaning mode that forms a high-toner-density cleaning sheet by superimposing multiple color toner images, exceeding the normal toner amount per unit area, to effectively clean the fixing portion by reheating and conveying the sheet, ensuring thorough contamination removal without frequent cleaning operations or excessive material usage.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a plurality of pages of cleaning sheets are passed through the nip portion or the cleaning operation is frequently performed, then the cleaning effect is improved, but normal image formation is hindered over a long time and many recording materials are consumed
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the toner amount parameter by forming a toner image with toner amount per unit area that is larger than the maximum amount used in normal image formation. This increased toner density creates a more effective cleaning sheet that can remove contamination more efficiently, reducing the frequency of cleaning operations needed while maintaining reliable component roller cleanliness.
2Quantity of substance
If recording materials with a large amount of filler are passed through the nip portion, then the releasability of the component roller surface is degraded, but the contamination accumulation on the component roller surface increases rapidly
Solution Approach 1:
The invention changes the toner amount parameter to exceed normal levels, creating a denser toner image on the cleaning sheet. This enhanced toner density provides stronger adhesion to contamination particles on the component roller surface, enabling effective removal of contaminants even when filler materials are present in the recording material and causing rapid contamination accumulation.
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 significantly improves cleaning efficiency, reducing contamination and jam occurrences, and minimizes the need for multiple cleaning sheets and frequent cleaning operations, even with contaminated materials, while maintaining image quality.
Implementation Method 1
a fixing portion that heats and fixes the toner image formed on the recording material to the recording material
Implementation Method 2
The adhesion results from an electrostatic offset caused by a charged recording material or component roller
Implementation Method 3
a thermal offset caused by excessive or insufficient fixation, adhesion of the unfixed toner to the component roller surface
Data Source
AI summary
The image forming apparatus includes an image forming portion forming a toner image on a recording material, and a fixing portion heating and fixing the toner image formed on the recording material to the recording material, wherein the apparatus has a cleaning mode in which the fixing portion is cleaned, and when the cleaning mode is set, the image forming portion forms a predetermined toner image on the recording material, and the fixing portion then heats and fixes the predetermined toner image to the recording material to form a cleaning sheet which is heated and conveyed to clean the fixing portion. By the virtue of the present invention, it achieves high cleaning performance in which the fixing portion is cleaned by the cleaning sheet.