Gate Member Energizer Deterioration Detection in Image Forming Apparatus
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Solution Overview
Problem
The existing image forming apparatuses face challenges in accurately determining the replacement time of the energizer in the gate members, leading to inefficient maintenance and potential failures in sheet skew correction, resulting in defective image formation and paper jams.
Innovation Solution
An image forming apparatus equipped with a hardware processor that detects the deterioration of the energizer by measuring the required recovery time of the gate members from the second attitude to the first attitude, using a sensor and light shielding plate configuration to determine the energizing member's state and notify users or maintenance personnel when replacement is necessary.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of manufacture
If the energizer is replaced after a fixed period of time, then maintenance is simplified, but maintenance efficiency decreases due to unnecessary visits when deterioration has not progressed
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces the mechanical time-based maintenance schedule with an sensor-based detection system that monitors the actual state of the gate member. A light receiver detects the position of the gate member to determine if it returns to the initial position, substituting chronological replacement with state-based assessment.
Solution Approach 2:
The system enables the gate member mechanism to self-report its condition through the sensor detection system. The light receiver automatically detects whether the gate member returns to its initial position, providing self-diagnosis capability that eliminates the need for manual inspection or fixed-schedule maintenance visits.
2Loss of substance
If the energizer is not replaced timely, then maintenance costs are reduced, but reliability decreases due to sheet skew correction failures and paper jams
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements a feedback mechanism where the light receiver continuously monitors the gate member's position and provides information to the controller. When the gate member fails to return to the initial position, the system receives feedback about the energizer's deteriorated state and can notify the user or automatically replace the energizer.
Solution Approach 2:
The system performs preliminary detection of energizer deterioration before complete failure occurs. By monitoring whether the gate member returns to its initial position, the system identifies deteriorating energizers in advance, allowing timely replacement before sheet skew correction failures or paper jams occur.
3Force
If the gate member recovery time is extended, then the energizer can handle heavier loads, but productivity decreases when the gate member cannot return in time for the next sheet
Solution Approach 1:
The patent dynamically monitors the actual recovery time of the gate member using the sensor system. Instead of designing for a fixed worst-case scenario, the system adapts to the actual performance of the energizer, detecting when recovery time exceeds the required interval between sheets and notifying users of deteriorating performance.
Data Source
AI summary
An image forming apparatus includes: a conveyance path that conveys a sheet; registration rollers that are arranged across the conveyance path and each comprise a nip part; a sheet locking member that locks a front end of a sheet conveyed in the conveyance path, where the sheet locking member swings between a first attitude and a second attitude, in the first attitude the sheet locking member locks the sheet on an upstream side of the nip part, and in the second attitude the sheet locking member is retracted to a downstream side of the nip part and allows the sheet to pass through the nip part; an energizer that energizes the sheet locking member to maintain the first attitude; and a hardware processor that detects deterioration of the energizer.